


The Little Merman - A Klance Mermaid AU

by Fandom_Brat



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ALL OF IT, Angst, Finished, Fluff, M/M, idk how to do tags, its all fluff, love you guys, mermaid au, oblivious keith, pining lance, suicide warning, witch Haggar - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-07-04 18:30:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 23,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15846939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandom_Brat/pseuds/Fandom_Brat
Summary: When Lance was saved from drowning by a mysterious merman, he did everything in his power to see him again, including giving his voice up to the local witch, Haggar.. Keith is a merman who always loved humans, more specifically the boy that came to the beach every day to sing and play his guitar. What happens when Lance finally finds Keith, but Keith doesn't recognize him, due to the fact that he doesn't look himself? Will he fall in love with him all over again, or will Haggar have Lance as her servant? The story unfolds in many ways.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first story on here, do I hope you guys enjoy! Also, I have a copy of this on WattPad, so don't be surprised if you find it there.

Keith was never one to listen to reason. He was too stubborn to listening to anything his father, King Shiro, said about humans. He always said to not go near them, that they were fish killers and that he would get hurt if he went near them. Keith, however, didn’t listen and would go up to the surface all the time.

He liked the feeling of the sun on his scales and skin, dry from sitting on the land for too long. No one saw him, because he was small enough to hide and had somehow found an island near the mainland to spend his time. 

Over time, though, he started to spend less and less time on that tiny island. When he was eight he had heard someone on the mainland and had decided to investigate. What he found took his breath away.

A human boy was sitting on the beach of the mainland with a piece of wood with some strings on it in between his arms. Beautiful sounds came out of it, making Keith freeze and listen in awe. The music had sounded like none he had ever heard in his home kingdom, Altea, so he stayed, wanting to hear more and more everyday.  
The boy himself was even more beautiful. His skin was like copper, shining in the morning sun, glistening with sweat from the heat. His hair was only a few shades darker, his bangs hanging in front of his eyes as he played the instrument with passion. He was only wearing a pair of swim shorts and a loose tank top, but Keith thought he looked absolutely beautiful.

When the boy started to sing, it made Keith’s heart melt.The humans that had been living on this mainland spoke a language similar to Keith’s but he had no idea what this boy was saying. He seemed to be speaking a whole different language.

“Oh por qué. ¿Nadie me verá por quién soy?” he sang out, strumming the instrument with a gentle passion. Keith set his head on his scaly arms atop a nearby rock and closed his eyes in bliss as the boy sang his song. It made him want to actually go up and speak to him, something he had always been too scared of doing with any human.  
His bliss was stopped when two kids came towards the beach a few minutes later, yelling something. One was large and barreled down the sand in their bright yellow and green apparel. The other one was a lot smaller, but a lot scarier, a dark green dress hanging around their small, but fast limbs.

“Lance!’ the small one yelled, making the boy turn to look at the two, “Your mom said it’s time for dinner!’

“Coming!” he yelled, quickly standing up and jogging after them. He was out of sight quickly, leaving Keith alone in the waters.

The merman carefully swam up to the beach and dragged himself across the sand, wanting to sit right where the boy had been sitting. “Lance,” he said softly to himself, bringing some sand up to his face, “His name is Lance,”

After that day, he made it a point to come to shore everyday to see if Lance was there, and everyday, without fail, Lance would come to the beach with his instrument. He would play it and sing in the beautiful language that made Keith’s insides melt. Even though her had no idea what he was saying, he knew it was special and listened to every word.  
Over the years, he learned a few things. He learned that the instrument Lance played was called a ‘guitar’, and that his two friends were named ‘Hunk’ and ‘Pidge’. That Lance had a large family and an even bigger heart, especially when it came to animals, like the time Pidge had brought her new dog, Rover, to see him on the beach and his whole face lit up. All of it made Keith realize that he was falling in love with a boy who didn’t even know him.

One day, Lance didn’t come to the beach. Keith sat hidden near the shore, watching the sands with a mix of fear and curiosity. Lance always came to sing, no matter what he was doing, even if he was sick. Something was wrong, and Keith knew that, so he stayed. He stayed until nightfall, when Lance finally made an appearance.  
It wasn’t on the beach, like normal, but rather, the cliff next to it, right beside a house at the top. Keith had learned a while ago that that was where he lived.  
Lance looked down at the water with a sad expression as he took off his shoes, not knowing Keith was watching nearby. The merman was getting a little uneasy, knowing that humans shouldn’t ever be up that high, or they could die.

What happened next made his heart flip and fall into his stomach, like a diver. Lance looked back at the house, then jumped right into the sea, his impact making a loud splash on the water. When he didn’t come up right away, Keith knew that something was really wrong. He knew that Lance was a good swimmer, and that he needed air, so he swam near him.

He found him near the cliff’s face, sinking lower and lower beneath the waves, not even trying to struggle or swim. His eyes closed and he let out the small bits of air he had, making Keith panic. He quickly scooped the boy up and brought him to the surface. Their heads broke through the waves and Keith struggled to keep Lance’s head above water as he carried them both to the shore.

He laid Lance down on the sands, checking him over for injuries. Other than a bloody nose, and the water in his lungs, he seemed fine. Speaking of the water in his lungs, Keith struggled to figure out how to make him breathe.

Merfolk breathed through their gills, but they could also breath in air from their nose and mouth, so he tried that. Pushing on his chest, he saw water come out of Lance’s mouth, so he pushed another time, then another, and another, and another, until it all no more came out. He still wasn’t breathing, so Keith had to figure out a way to get air into his body.

So, he needs to get air in through his mouth, and I can push out air through my gills and mouth he thought looking at Lance Maybe if I…  
He slowly put his mouth on his and pushed as much air as he could into Lance’s mouth. When some air started coming out of his nose, Keith pinched it to keep it all in. After a few breaths, Lance took in a deep breath and sat up, his eyes flying open.

Keith sat back, looking at the boy he had been watching for years. From this close, he could see that his eyes were a pretty shade of blue, even more beautiful than the ocean. There wasn’t a single blemish on his copper skin, which shone in the early rays of the sun. He really was beautiful.

“Who-? What-? Where-?” Lance stuttered, looking around. His eyes landed on Keith and widened in fear. He sprung back, trying to keep his distance from the strange merman.  
Keith furrowed his brows and crawled closer, forgetting that Lance would be scared. “I just saved you, so a little respect might be nice,” he said, not meaning to snap. He sat down again, still a little ways away from Lance, but only by about 5 feet.

“Who and what are you?” Lance exclaimed, looking over Keith with wide eyes. Keith figured he did look a little different. His hair was long and black, not anything like Lance’s. He had dark red Altean markings on his pale cheeks that matched his tail, and his eyes were sharper than humans’. Still, he didn’t think he looked that weird.  
“I’m Keith,” he announced, knowing the answer by heart, “Mer-prince of the aquatic kingdom, Altea,” He said it with a flourish, having been taught by both his father and sister to always say his full title like that.

“That’s long,” Lance said simply, looking over Keith with less fear and more curiosity, “and what do you mean you…?” His eyes widened again, but this time from shame, rather than fear.

“You brought me here after I jumped, didn’t you?” he asked, bringing his knees up to his chest.  
Keith nodded and scooted closer, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. When Lance didn’t shrink away, he spoke. “Why did you jump?”


	2. Chapter Two

Lance had always been used to a minimal amount of attention. Growing up with a ton of siblings and cousins in a single house had that effect, but it didn’t make it any better. He was always ignored, unless it was when he did something stupid. Most of his time was spent on the beach with his guitar, playing sad music and singing in Spanish about all of his sorrows.

Honestly, the only things that kept him sane were Hunk and Pidge. He had met the both of them in elementary school, and even though Pidge is a full two years younger than Hunk and Lance, she was in the same grade, having skipped a couple. They were all best friends instantly.

They may have helped, but they didn’t stop the ache in Lance’s heart whenever his parents would ignore him mid-sentence to see what his little sister was saying or doing. When his aunt would shoo him out of the kitchen, even though he could cook well, in favor of letting his older sister help. When he could disappear for four hours on the beach and no one would notice.

One day, he had had enough. His whole family had forgotten about him when they went to the family picnic, so he shut himself up in his room and wrote his note. It took all day, but, when it was ready, he put it on the fridge and left the house at midnight.

Standing above the sea, the waves crashing dangerously below, he began to have second thoughts. What would Pidge and Hunk do? Who would take care of his little sister? How would his family fare? All of these thoughts swirled in his head, but he still took his shoes off, looking towards the waves with a blank expression.

Before he could even think, he jumped, hitting the water with a crash. He knew how to swim, but he didn’t move, letting the water fold in around him and steal his breath. The last of his air came out of his mouth in small bubbles as he closed his eyes, letting himself drift out of consciousness.

Suddenly, he woke up on the beach, his whole body numb and cold, but still very much alive. The sun was beginning to rise, and he was definitely on the beach he’s usually on, but he shouldn’t’ve been alive.

“Who-? What-? Where-?” he stuttered, looking around.

Lance’s eyes landed on someone next to him, but it didn’t look like a normal human, not even human at all. Little, dark red markings were at the top of its cheek bones, matching what looked like a fish tail below its waist. Its skin was pale, contrasting with its long, dark hair. It was definitely freaky.

Lance jumped back, nearly flying five feet in the air and back. The thing huffed and crawled forward, dragging its body across the sand with its arms. Lance kept going back, fear thudding through his veins.

The thing sat back on its haunches, and huffed, crossing its scaly arms. “I just saved you, so a little respect might be nice,” he snapped, looking at him with a sort of betrayal.  
“Who and what are you?” Lance exclaimed, eyeing the thing with fear and apprehension. The more he looked at him, the more he started to look like a merman.

At that, it sat up straight and spoke with a sort of flourish. “I’m Keith, mer-prince of the aquatic kingdom, Altea,” he finished proudly, looking Lance directly in the eye.  
Lance was completely stunned at that. He had asked a weird creature who and what he was and he went off on this long tangent about his whole title.

All that came out of his was mouth was, “That’s long,” It was stupid, but that’s all he could think of at the time. Another thought came to his mind when he said that.

“And what do you mean you…?” he asked, but trailed off when he realized the situation. He had just tried to drown himself and this merman, who could obviously swim, was sitting next to him when he woke up on the beach.

He brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face into them. “You brought me here after I jumped, didn’t you?” he asked, shame now fueling his body.

Keith seemed to scoot closer, then a wet hand came down on Lance’s shoulder. It was cold, but he didn’t shy away. He rather liked the attention, even looking up after a minute.

“Why did you jump?” the merman asked, tilting his head to the side.

Lance took a deep breath at that, not really feeling completely comfortable with sharing his inner workings with someone. He didn’t even share that kind of stuff with Hunk or Pidge. But, maybe talking about it would help.

“Well,” Lance began, scooting closer to Keith, “I have a really big family, a lot of siblings and cousins in one house,”

Keith nodded and tilted his head to look him in the eyes. Lance noticed that he had the prettiest indigo eyes that sparkled with curiosity.

“Because of this, I don’t get a lot of attention, which didn’t exactly help my self esteem,” He could feel tears forming in his eyes, but he kept them at bay. Crying wouldn’t help a single thing that was happening to him.

“But you have friends that help,” Keith said, saying it more like a fact than a question.

Lance nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat. “I do, but they can’t stop what it feels like to be ignored by the people you love the most,”

Keith nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when a loud barking echoed through the little pocket of beach they were in. Lance looked up and saw Pidge’s dog, a little Dachshund named Rover, barking at them from the top of the dune separating the beach from the rest of the town. He quickly looked back and saw that Keith wasn’t there anymore. A loud splash caught his attention, and he looked toward the ocean. A flash of red disappeared beneath the waves and the water became the normal crashing of waves it had been the day before.

“Lance!” Pidge’s voice shouted from behind him, worry laced into her tone.

“Dude, we were so worried, we thought you really died!” Hunk yelled, his large arms lifting Lance off the sand. Lance spared the ocean one last glance, then turned towards his friends. 

They were still in their nightclothes, Pidge’s glasses were tucked into the pocket of her night dress, and Hunk’s headband wasn’t even present. Their hair was mushed up in all different ways, like they had just jumped out of bed, and their eyes shone with worry.

“I’m fine,” Lance mumbled, leaning into Hunk’s hug, “Just wanted to do something, but was stopped,”

Hunk and Pidge exchanged nervous glances, but said nothing, merely ushering Lance up towards his house, where his family was sat, worried out of their mind. Before he left, Lance spared one last glance towards the ocean, and saw a small bit of black floating above the waves before disappearing.


	3. Chapter 3

Keith watched as Lance’s friends took him up to his house, making sure that he was safe before heading back towards Altea. Altea wasn’t a long ways away, but it was a phenomenon that no human had ever seen it, yet. A castle stood in the center of the city, its, beautiful, coral towers rising up towards the surface. Coral buildings panned out around it, making the whole place shine in the light that came in from the surface.

This was the kingdom that his sister, Princess Allura, would one day inherit. Allura herself was a natural leader. Her voice was able to inspire thousands at once, and convince others to change their opinions with a single speech. Though, she didn’t look tough, she was a force to be reckoned with.

Her skin was dark, but her hair was stark white, making her look a little strange, but still beautiful. Light pink, Altean markings were on her cheeks, matching her tail, much like every other Altean. She only wore a loose, pink sash wrapped around her top, but she wore it with pride and never once used it to try and charm someone. She truly was a princess.

“Where have you been?” she asked, swimming up to Keith as he entered the castle, “Father’s been looking for you all night!” She grabbed Keith’s hand and led him towards the throne room, where his father, King Shiro was frantically swimming around, issuing orders to the servants around the room.

Shiro was also rather tough, matching the whole family dynamic. His hair was pitch black, but was white near the ends from the stress of his captivity with the Galra, a pirate force he had defeated shortly after he adopted Keith and Allura. A scar ran across the bridge of his nose from the muzzle they had used on him, and his tail was a sharp shade of violet with black fins and gill flaps. 

“Keith!” he exclaimed upon seeing Keith and Allura enter, “Where have you been!?” He quickly engulfed him in a hug, his muscled arms nearly breaking his fragile back.

“Dad, let me go, please,” he wheezed out, barely able to get water into his gills.

Shiro let go and gave him a stern look, one that he shrunk under. “Were you up near the human world all night?” he asked, keeping his voice low. It scared Keith, but not enough to show.

“Yes, sir,” he managed, swallowing a lump in his throat. Crying would not help his situation at all.

“Keith, you know that the humans are dangerous!” he yelled, making a lot of the servants in the room freeze, “They could’ve killed you!”

“But I saved someone’s life!” Keith yelled back, realizing his mistake as soon as he said it.

Shiro’s eyes widened and he came in closer, any trace of sympathy gone. “Did you go near a human?” he bellowed, still keeping his voice low, but scary.

Keith squirmed under the gaze, but he nodded, wanting to get out of the room as soon as he could. He knew why Shiro hated humans, but he just couldn’t help it. They were always so weird looking, and Lance always kept his attention, no matter what.

“Humans are abominations!” Shiro yelled, turning and swimming up to his throne to brood, “You should’ve just let this one die!”

“That’s not what you said when you found me!” Keith yelled, his face turning so red, his markings blended in.

Shiro had found Keith in a pirate ship not too far away from the kingdom. It had been apparent at the time that he was half human, but, with some magic, he looked like a full merman, even if that wasn’t who he was. That might’ve been part of the reason why humans fascinated him so much.

“Coran,” Shiro said, speaking to the head guard, “Please take Keith to his room, and don’t let him out of your sight,”

“Right, sire,” the merman floating next to the throne said, swimming up to Keith and gently grabbing his arm.

Coran was like that weird uncle everyone has. His skin was pale and his hair was bright orange, matching the mustache on his face that never had a hair out of place. His markings were turquoise, as was his tail. He wore a traditional general’s sash around his body as a sign of importance. And he was old.

“Come along, now, young prince,” he said in a chipper voice. 

Keith shot a glare back towards Shiro before yanking his arm out of Coran’s grasp. Without warning, he shot into his room and locked the door, not wanting anyone to see him cry from the gaze his father had given him.

“Sire, should I…?” Coran tried, but he was silenced when Shiro held up a hand, the one that had to be replaced by magic coral when it had been cut off by a Galra pirate.

“Let him be,” he said in a much softer tone than earlier, “Just make sure he stays in there until I say to let him out,”

Keith sat on his bed as tears leaked out of his eyes. They blended into the water as soon as they left, but that didn’t stop them. Buckets and buckets of tears poured out of the small merman, until there were none left and he was left there, numb from the fins up.

It was near nightfall when a knock sounded at the door. “What?” Keith hissed, curling up into his bed.

“I just wanted to talk,” Shiro’s said from the other side of the door, clearly guilty from the conversation earlier.

Keith waited a few seconds before sighing and getting up to unlock the door. As soon as it was unlocked, he swam back to his bed and flopped down on it, watching Shiro slowly come into the room.

“What do you want?” he snapped, glaring at him, “To yell at me some more? To tell me you’ve assigned a guard to watch over me?”

“No,” Shiro said, swimming over to him and sitting on the edge of the bed, “I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for yelling at you,”

Keith froze, staring at his father with a guarded curiosity. “You didn’t deny the guard fact,” he muttered, lowering his gaze to Shiro’s hands. He always twists his fingers when he was trying to avoid saying something, and he was.

“I’ve assigned Coran to keep an eye on you until I deem you responsible enough to not go near the humans,” he mumbled, averting his gaze from his son.

“Why!?” Keith yelled, his anger making him float up suddenly, “Why won’t you just let me go and see them!?”

“Because I don’t want to lose you, too!” Shiro yelled back, silencing the boy. Angry tears streamed out of his eyes as he watched Keith sit, knowing what he was talking about.

“Not all humans are like the ones that killed Adam,” Keith whispered, remembering his other father, who had been killed by a small Galra faction not too long after the war ended. He and Shiro hadn’t even been married, yet.

“I know, I just…” Shiro mumbled, dragging his hands across his face, “I just don’t wanna take that chance,”

Keith nodded and wrapped his arms around his father, allowing him to shed some much needed tears. It had been a rough few years for both of them and they needed some time.


	4. Chapter 4

“Lance!” Mrs. McClain shouted, watching her son pack up his things, “Can we please talk about this?”

“No, Mama,” he shouted back, shoving some money into his bag, “I’m going to see the witch and you can’t stop me!”

“Why would you go see the witch, just to see you’re made up merman boyfriend, tonto?” his older sister, Veronica, asked, sitting on the kitchen counter.

It had been a week since the incident with Keith, and Lance had not stopped talking about him. He would go into in-depth detail about his eyes and what he sounded like, always making a dreamy face and letting his oatmeal fall off of his spoon. His family had actually thought it was cute, until Lance began to describe his tail.

“Because, la queja,”Lance snapped back, “He’s not made up and I want to see him again,” He was having enough of his family talking like Keith wasn’t real. He does one stupid thing, and now they all pay attention to him, then they start mocking him when he starts talking about someone he likes.

“Even if he is real, why are you going to see the bruja?” Veronica snapped back, fear at the woman in her eyes.

Truth be told, Lance had been trying other ways to get to Keith, but they hadn’t been working. He went down to the beach everyday to try and see him, but he never showed, like he didn’t even want to see Lance anymore. Lance even tried swimming out to sea to find him, but he couldn’t and had to be pulled out by his ears by his mom.

“Because he won’t come and see me, so I have to see him,” he whispered, zipping up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

“But the witch?” Veronica repeated, getting more and more anxious every time the witch was mentioned. 

“Yes, I’ll need some sort of magic to get out to sea,” Lance mumbled, heading towards the door. He had a goal, and nothing would keep him from it.

“Just, please be safe, mijo,” his mom said, grabbing his arm and giving him a long hug. Lance wrapped his own arms around her neck and buried his face into the top of her head.

After a minute, he let go and walked out, not even sparing the rest of his family a glance. He didn’t want to see the looks on their faces and decide to stay back. Truth be told, he was scared to see the witch, Haggar.

She had come to town a few years earlier, seeming to come in out of nowhere one night. Quickly, she got a reputation as the local witch, when she was caught brewing potions in her hut. Anyone who made a deal with her would disappear, but a select few would emerge safe, whatever they wanted in their grasp. If anyone was going to help Lance, it was her.

The walk to her hut was a long one, but one that Lance made without a second thought. All he had to do was follow the cliff line for a few miles and he would be there, but it was still a long way. He had left his house at ten in the morning, but he finally got to the small, creepy hut at noon.

It was small, barely large enough to fit a small bedroom in, but had so many things in the yard. Dark green vines swirled around the dark oak walls of the hut, making it look tattooed. Bright purple flowers bloomed around the perimeter of the yard, making a large circle around the whole place. The faint smell of rubber and leather came from the inside, black smoke curling out of the chimney.

Lance quickly knocked on the purple door, anxiety eating at his insides. “Hello, is anyone there?” he asked, stepping back from the door.

After a moment, a gravelly voice spoke from the other side. “What is it you desire, young one?” it asked, sending shivers down Lance’s spine.

Lance swallowed the lump of anxiety in his throat and answered. “I wish to once again see the face of the merman who saved me,”

Immediately, the door swung open and Lance got an eyeful of the witch, Haggar. White hair and a purple hood obscured her face, but the bottom was pale, pale enough to nearly look purple. Red markings came down her chin in points, like bloody tears. The hood she wore extended to a plain, purple robe that went down to the floor, covering most of her up. This was the one person Lance had hoped he would never see.

“Come in, child,” she said, her voice more airy and hollow than before, “If you wish to see him,”

Lance stepped into the hut and was amazed at the sheer size of the inside. It definitely looked a lot larger on the inside than it had on the outside. Shelves that were filled with all sorts of things, from potion bottles to books, lined the walls, in a disorderly fashion. A cauldron sat in the middle of the room, thick, black smoke rising from the bubbling liquid inside. There was no bed, nor was there a place to rest at all, making Lance wonder if this woman ever slept.

“Dear, you said you wanted to see a merman that saved your life,” the witch said, reaching up to grab a book from one of the shelves, “You wish to find him?”

“Yes,” Lance said, urgency in his voice, “I want to see him and thank him for what he had done and maybe, I don’t know…” He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck and looking to the floor. He didn’t want to admit that he had fallen in love with someone he had only talked to once.

“You wish to court him?” the witch said, a small smirk on her lips, “I can do this for you,”

At that, Lance’s head snapped up, his eyes wide. “You can!?” he exclaimed, excitement taking over his whole body.

“Of course,” Haggar said, looking at Lance with a hunger, “but nothing comes for free,” She thought back to all the times she had gone down to the sea and heard this young man singing. He also talked so much, filling the ears of anyone nearby. A nasty idea spread through her head and she smiled evilly, turning to her cauldron.

“What do you want?” Lance asked quickly walking over to her, “Name it and I’ll pay it,”

Haggar smiled even wider at that, making sure to keep it hidden beneath her hood. “I’ll need your voice to make sure the spell works properly,”

Lance didn’t even think twice. “Okay, how do we get it out?” The very thought of being able to see Keith again made his heart flutter and his mind cloud beyond all rational thought.

Haggar turned towards him and raised her hand. A lump formed in Lance’s throat and he tried to swallow it, but it just came up, like a ball in his mouth. He opened it and spit it out, seeing a floating orb right in front of him. It was wispy and colored a lovely shade of light blue, small songs in Spanish coming from it.

He opened his mouth to remark how pretty it was, but nothing came out. He frowned, but kept watching as Haggar put it into a bag and began to chant.   
“Caelum spirituum, turn puero isto in mari usque ad aequare unus de creatura diligit!” she yelled, summoning a ball of purple light that hit Lance square in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

When the spots cleared from his vision, he realized that it was a whole lot sharper and that everything was so clear. Looking down, he saw a lovely tail, the scales blue and sleek, with accents and gill flaps splayed out all over it. Looking up towards the polished side of the cauldron, he saw that his hair had turned white and light blue markings were on his cheeks, just like Keith’s had been.

He silently cheered, happiness and excitement coursing through his veins. He was so happy, he almost missed Haggar’s warning.

“You have until the end of the week to get him to kiss you, and you will be with him forever and your voice will return,” she said, a wicked grin across her face, “If not, you will be my silent servant for the rest of your days,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations (Keep in mind that I was using Google translate):
> 
> tonto: idiot/stupid
> 
> la queja: bitch
> 
> bruja: witch
> 
> mijo: son


	5. Chapter 5

Keith had been spending a weird amount of time in Altea, a lot more than he usually did. Most of it was spent in the castle training with his sword, but he would sometimes venture out and into the city, finding the weirdest places to hide from Coran. Honestly, the amount of times he had hidden behind a wall and Coran had gone around the city trying to find him was hilarious.

One day, Keith found himself in the garden with Allura while she talked about her favorite plants. He wasn’t really paying much attention, just kinda glancing at them, then looking off towards the direction of the mainland. He itched to go back and see Lance, maybe even get to know him more now that he knew him, but he could never get away from Coran for long enough. It had been a whole week.

“-and they really do wonders for the skin,” Allura said excitedly, snapping Keith out of his daze.

“What?” Keith asked, not even trying to hide the fact that he hadn’t been listening.

Allura huffed and crossed her arms, a slight pout on her face. “You weren’t listening,” she said, stating it, rather than asking.

“No,” Keith said bluntly, “I was thinking about something else,”

“You mean someone else,” Allura teased, poking Keith in the arm, “Still hung up on that human you saved?”

Keith blushed and swatted her hand away, earning a loud laugh from her that made him scowl. “No, I was just thinking about a new training exercise I could do later, when I’m away from you!” He didn’t mean for it to sound rude, but he couldn’t help it.

Thankfully, Allura was used to him and brushed it off. “Yeah, yeah, just come check out this Marulean flower Father planted not too long ago,”

With that, she dragged him off towards the edge of the garden to see some weird, blue plant. The kind of blue that matched Lance’s eyes Keith thought, wilting at the thought. He really did miss his human.

He looked off towards the mainland, again, but was his eyes caught something else in the water. A merman, not too much older than himself was struggling to swim through the open water. He looked like he didn’t even know how to swim.

“And this bit here can- Keith, where are you going!?” Allura shouted at her brother. He had begun to swim towards the merman, hoping to get away from Allura, but also because he felt a pang of pity every time the guy failed to push the water around him and move forwards.

The boy slumped and hung limply in the water, rubbing his face in frustration. “You okay there, dude?” Keith asked once he got close enough, startling the poor guy. He seemed to suddenly be able to swim, as he shot back a full four feet, his eyes wide and his mouth open, but no sound came out.

He didn’t look familiar to Keith. His skin was tanned, like copper, and his hair was a bright shade of white that could rival Allura’s. His tail was blue, matching the markings on his face and his eyes. Eyes that seemed strangely familiar to Keith, but he couldn’t quite place it.

His eyes landed on Keith and he suddenly relaxed, but still had wide eyes. They didn’t show fear, but something else. Awe? Surprise, perhaps?

“Keith,” Allura’s voice said behind him, “What are you- Oh!” She stopped right next to Keith, eyeing the merman with curiosity.

“Who’s this?” she asked after a minute. The merman brightened at that and opened his mouth to respond, but, when no sound came out, he slumped forward in defeat. 

He’s mute Keith thought, tilting his head. He had never heard of a mute merman before, a concept that only existed with the humans. First time for everything, I guess he thought, watching as he looked up at the two royal siblings with pain.

“Can you speak, young man?” Allura asked, swimming up to him.

He shook his head, gesturing sadly at his throat, trying to play charades. His blue eyes flicked to Keith, seeming to look for some kind of thought from him, like they had met before. Keith gave him a weird look in response, but an idea sparked into his mind as he looked into his blue eyes.

“How about we just call you Blue?” Keith said, looking over his tail and markings. Yeah, blue could work.

“I like that,” Allura said, looking to her brother before turning back to Blue, “Is that okay with you?”

Blue didn’t look satisfied, but he nodded, still looking more at Keith than at Allura. Keith found it slightly unnerving and swam back a couple of inches. 

Allura didn’t notice and turned towards the castle. “Would you like to join us for lunch?” she asked Blue with a smile, “It looks like you could use some food,”

Blue stared at Keith a moment longer before nodding. Allura smiled and turned to swim back to the castle, but Keith grabbed her arm to stop her, a lazy expression on his face.

“What?” Allura snapped, yanking her arm out of her brother’s hold. Keith merely sighed and pointed to Blue, who was attempting to swim over, his arms going out in wide arches, but his tail stayed motionless, sometimes twitching, like he was trying to move it in a weird way.

“That’s why I came over here in the first place,” Keith said, “He can’t seem to swim correctly,”

Blue looked up at that and scowled at Keith, not denying it, but still trying to swim. After a minute, he stopped and made a desperate face that just screamed help me, please. It made Keith’s heart thud against his ribs. He had no idea why, but that look seemed familiar.

“Hang on,” Keith grumbled, following as Allura silently went over to Blue. They each took one of his arms and began to guide him towards the castle. While they swam, Blue watched Allura and Keith’s tails, flapping his own to match their strokes. He still needed help, but, once they had reached the castle, he was able to propel himself forwards in little bursts.

“Children, just in time for lunch!” Shiro shouted when he saw Keith, who was swimming ahead of Blue and Allura, who had stayed to help him maneuver around.

“We brought company,” Keith mumbled, taking his seat at the table. Shiro gave him a confused look, and looked towards the door when Keith nodded towards it.

The two of them watched as Blue and Allura came in, Blue still wobbly and unsure of himself as he swam around, but very much determined. Allura held onto his arm to make sure he didn’t run into any walls and promptly laughed when she let go and Blue swam into a wall. He gave her a withering look, and tried to jump at her, but just ended up floating through the water.

“Who’s this?” Shiro laughed out, covering his face with his hand.

Bue looked up at that, twisting in the water to get a better look at Shiro as he looked him over. He smiled and opened his mouth again, but rolled his eyes at himself when, once again, no sound came out. Slumping forward, he motioned for Allura to introduce him.

“Father, this is Blue,” she said, gently guiding him to sit next to Keith, “Sadly, he can’t seem to talk,”

Blue looked sheepish and seemed to blush, his face darkening. Keith regarded him with a confused look, then turned towards the stage at the end of the table with a bored look.  
“I hope you like dancing, Blue,” Allura said, turning to the stage with an excited look. He turned to the stage as Shiro settled into the seat at the head of the table. After a moment, the surtain parted and a dancer came out, dancing across the stage as the food was set out in front of them.

She didn’t dance in any way that was bad, just moving around in lean ways that seemed to hypnotize everyone around her. At some point, Allura got to go up and dance with her, making weird giggles as she did so. Blue looked at Keith at some point, searching his face for something, but gave up at some point. When Keith laughed though, when Allura tripped on the stage, Blue’s face lit up and he gave him a fond look. It was almost enduring and he wished Keith had noticed.


	6. Chapter 6

To say Lance was ticked off was an understatement. Keith didn’t seem to recognize him at all, and, to make it worse, he was cold to people he didn’t know. He barely talked to Lance the first day he was there and basically just ignored the rest of the world. It not only made Lance mad, but it made sadness and pity ache through his bones. All he wanted to do was hug the poor boy.

When Shiro and Allura found out that he had no place to stay, that he was out of town, they offered to give him a room in the castle until he could find a place. He graciously accepted and was led to his room, which just so happened to be next to Keith’s. Lance suspected Allura had something to do with it, but he said nothing (obviously).

“So, Blue,” Shiro said at breakfast the next day, “Where are you from?”

Lance looked up from his seaweed wrap breakfast burrito, which was surprisingly good, and scrunched his eyebrows together, like he was thinking. After a moment, he gestured up towards the ceiling.

“You came from the surface?” Allura asked, fascinated by the statement. That brought Keith attention away from wherever he was in Dreamland.

Lance made a ‘kinda’ gesture with his hand. He didn’t want to say that he was technically human, so he settled for agreeing with Allura when she said that he lived near the surface, rather than on the surface. It was a lot better than having to endure the looks of hatred that would most likely unfold if he let slip that he was human. He had heard Shiro talking about them earlier that morning.

“Have you ever seen any humans?” Keith asked, unable to keep the curiosity out of his voice.

Lance nodded, excited at the fact that Keith was actually showing him some attention. His violet eyes grew wide and his face went slack with awe. Lance studied his face while he had his attention. The way his hair floated around his head framed his face perfectly, and it shined in the light that streamed in through the water. His eyes really were violet, a shade that Lance had never been able to appreciate until then, but they were the most beautiful thing in the world to him. The markings on his face seemed to literally glow when Lance mentioned humans, making a small light in the middle of the room. He was just so beautiful

The sound of Shiro clearing his throat caught their attention. The two looked back and saw Shiro scowling at them, clearly distressed by the conversation.

Keith deflated at that look and quickly got up. “I’m heading off to train,” he muttered as he swam out, a sad scowl on his face.

Lance watched him go, a growing ache in his chest. He turned back to his breakfast and deflated himself, too distressed to eat. 'At this rate' he thought bitterly 'I’ll be stuck as Haggar’s servant forever.'

“Sorry about that,” Allura said, breaking the awkward silence, “but humans are a really sensitive topic around here,”

Lance shrugged and got up himself, swimming a little unsteadily. He held his hand up when Allura came over to help and still struggled, but began to swim normally, even if it was a bit forced. Working with a tail was like trying to swim with your legs wrapped up. Hard at first, but not impossible.

After exploring the castle for a bit, he heard the sounds of fighting from another room. He quickly swam towards it and peeked into the large room at the end. What he saw took his breath away.

Keith was swimming around, long sword in hand and battling with what looked like a training dummy. Sweat was beading around his forehead, prominent even in the ocean as he slashed with the ferocity of a thousand suns. It made Lance want to duck out and stay and watch at the same time.

He didn’t get a choice, though, because, as he was weighing the pros and cons of staying, Keith finished with the dummy and turned around, spotting Lance instantly. His face darkened more than it had before and he began to swim out, but Lance grabbed his arm to stop him.

Keith looked back, clearly annoyed, but trying to hide it. “What, Blue?” he snapped, snapping his sword to the leather belt around his waist.

Lance blanched at that moment, completely forgetting what he was doing. He had just wanted to be around Keith, and now he had to think up some excuse to keep him there. Faking a shameful look at the hall, he tried to find something to say. Then, upon spotting all of the doors, an idea popped into his head.

He gestured slowly around the halls, looking back at Keith with an amused and curious expression. It was rather nice to see Keith’s face shift from annoyed to taken aback.  
“You want me to show you around the castle?” he asked, eyes darting between the doors.

Lance nodded and tried to drag him down the hall, but failed and bumped into a wall, earning a snort from Keith. He quickly shot the boy a scowl and tried again, this time holding on as Keith slowly made his way around the halls.

They made their way throughout the whole castle, Keith describing each room to Lance. His favorite seemed to be the training room, but he also took a shining to his own room and studio. Unlike most of the other rooms, Keith didn’t let Lance go inside, muttering something about it being a private place. It had Lance captivated, but he didn’t push, wanting to stay on Keith’s good side.

After about an hour, the two of them reached the other side of the castle and were at the final room. The door was huge and made of golden coral, much like the other doors, but this one seemed different. It looked more sparkly to Lance.

“This is the orchestra room,” Keith said, pushing the doors open. They swung open without a sound and Lance was faced with the most beautiful room by far. Shells lined the room in orderly rows, looking a lot like band kids at a show. Small harps hung on the walls and shiny things that Lance couldn’t even describe. It took his breath away and made his head fuzzy in the best way possible.

He quickly swam over to one of the harps and picked it up, inspecting it slightly with an excited look on his face. After a moment, he turned back to Keith, gesturing to the harp in a silent question.

“You play?” Keith asked, gesturing to the harp.

Lance nodded enthusiastically and swam over to a chair in the corner, gesturing for Keith to come closer. When the merman swam close enough, Lance positioned the harp in his arms. 

The sound that came out was absolutely beautiful and it entranced Keith in a way that no music ever had. It made him sit down and watch as Lance played with passion, never once opening his mouth to sing and letting the music speak his hurts. It felt good to let out some tension.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pidge and Hunk stood outside the local church with tears streaming down their face. The rain soaked through their clothes, but they didn’t care, merely watching as everyone went away. The witch had said he had tried to come to her house and had fallen off of the cliff. They couldn’t even find his body.


	7. Chapter 7

Keith felt weird whenever he was around Blue. Even if he was in the other room, he would always feel weird just by hearing him. Blue didn’t seem the same, though. Any time he saw Keith, he’d swim up to him and grab his hand, dragging him off to wherever the fun was at. At first, Keith didn’t really like it, but by the third day, he started to endure it, if only a little.

It was actually in the middle of the night on the fourth day that Blue came to him, silently asking what was wrong. Keith was sitting on the balcony of the castle, looking out towards the mainland with a sad look. His head was propped up on his arms, which were draped across the railing in a bored fashion.

“Nothing, Blue,” he muttered, beginning to swim away, but Blue caught his arm. Keith looked back and saw that he had genuine concern in his eyes that made Keith want to cry. He just looked so worried that it was almost impossible to remember that they didn’t really know each other.

Blue tilted his head to the side and softly patted his chest with his free hand. Hurt he seemed to say. The two of them had developed this sort of sign language, and emotions were usually stated through touchest to the chest. The gesture, mixed with the look on his face definitely asked if he was hurting.

“No, I just,” Keith began, but had to stop himself to keep from crying, “I just miss going up to the surface. I would go, but Coran is always following me,”

As if on cue, Coran peeked out from around the corner and gave the two a bright smile before going back to where he had been.

Blue scowled and looked to the ground in thought before popping up again, his face alight with a new idea. He quickly pulled Keith over to the edge of the balcony and pointed to the surface, seeming to say go.

“I can’t,” Keith whispered, knowing Coran was still around the corner, “Coran or another guard will just find me again,”

Blue waved his hand, then pointed to himself with a smirk and knowing look in his eyes. He held up three fingers, then pointed up to the surface again.

“Wait three minutes, then go?” Keith asked, already excited. Blue was gonna pose a distraction!

Blue nodded and swam off of the balcony and into the castle, giving Coran a nod when he rounded the corner. Once he was gone, Coran glanced over at Keith, then looked back into the hall, seeing that he was still there. Keith began to count the minutes.

As soon as he hit minute three, an explosion happened inside the castle, nearly shaking the whole thing. Keith took that as a signal and took off towards the surface, glancing back only to make sure things were alright. The castle itself looked okay, except for the gently rising blue smoke.

Keith swam as fast as he could towards the surface, hope sparking inside of him. After a few minutes, his head broke through the waves and he was only about a mile away from the beach Lance would sit at.

“That actually worked!” Keith yelled, laughing and breeching out of the water in excitement.

His swim towards the beach only took a few seconds, but it felt like eternity for him. As soon as he reached it, he flopped onto the sand with a quiet laugh. The moon was high in the sky and the sounds of the city were quiet, making the whole place peaceful. It made Keith want to sink into the sand and never get out.

Some time later, he saw something else pop out of the water and looked up. Blue was bobbing above the waves, waving excitedly at Keith from a distance. He seemed to be silently laughing.

“Dude, what did you do to the castle?” Keith asked once he got there. He didn’t sound angry, he actually sounded quite excited and wanted to know if he could use it for himself at some point.

Blue beamed and pulled something out of the leather satchel around his body. It seemed to be a shiny blue shell that fit in the middle of Blue palm, but, upon further inspection, he saw that it was actually a bug. Beady eyes stared up at him and tiny antenna twitched in fear.

“A color bug?” Keith asked in awe, “How did you find these?”

Blue smiled and put the bug back into his bag, holding his finger up to his mouth and winking. Secret.

“Ugh, fine,” Keith moaned, “Don’t tell me,” He looked around and spotted Lance’s house at the top of the cliff. All the lights were off and the windows were shut, but Keith couldn’t help but feel that something was off.

Blue tapped his shoulder to get his attention, and gestured to the house with a concerned look. What’s so special about this place? He asked, curiosity in his blue eyes.  
Keith took a breath, deciding whether or not to tell Blue about his crush on a human. He knows that it was frowned upon, but maybe, since he used to live near humans, Blue would understand. He needed to get the off his chest anyway, and it wasn’t like he was gonna tell anybody anyway.

“There’s a boy that lives there,” Keith began, tracing patterns in the sand, “His name is Lance and he has got to be one of the most beautiful boys I’ve ever seen,”

He looked up to see Blue’s reaction, but his gaze remained unreadable, which made Keith squirm, but he and already started and couldn’t stop.

“I would come here every day and listen to him sing and play his guitar, a human instrument,” he added, making sure Blue knew what a guitar was, “I’ve been doing that ever since I was eight,”

Blue stiffened, looking at Keith in surprise, his lips parted in awe. His expression was still unreadable, but Keith knew he was at least taken aback by what he said.

“Anyway, something just seemed wrong and I was wondering if everything over there was alright,” he mumbled, quickly cutting off the rest of the conversation. He felt a gentle hand wipe at his face, bringing away tears that he hadn’t even known were there.

He looked up and saw Blue take his hand back, his face soft. His eyes were sad and relaxed, but he smiled in a way that made Keith feel warm. He brought his hand up to his chest again and nodded his head once. It’s okay he said, smiling as he did so.

Keith swallowed the lump in his throat and roughly rubbed at his eyes, trying to stop the gentle flow of tears that had begun at the gesture. “Sorry, I just needed to get that of of my chest,”

Blue grabbed at his hands and pulled them away, shaking his head. He was either saying Don’t feel sorry or Don’t do that to you eyes. Neither made Keith feel any better.

“I’m sorry,” he said again, taking a shaky breath, “I’m just not good with emotions,”

Blue shook his head again, more force behind his eyes this time. After a minute of thinking, he looked Keith in the eye and began to do some of his own signing.  
He pointed to Keith. “Me?” Keith said, but changed his answer when Blue shook his head, “You?”

Blue nodded and turned to the sand, drawing an ‘r’. “Are,” Keith said, more sure this time.

Blue nodded again and began to write more in the sand. “Valid,” Keith breathed, more tears threatening to spill out over his cheeks. His face scrunched up as they did, his whole body racking with silent sobs.

Blue smiled and looked up, but his face quickly fell at the sight of Keith crying. He scooted over to him, and held his hand, his face asking if he was okay.

Keith nodded and opened his mouth, his words garbled and slurred, but still understandable. “No one’s ever said that to me before,”

Blue scowled with humor and crossed his arms, gesturing to his throat. Keith laughed at that, little giggles mixing with the tears.  
“Maybe not said,” he laughed out, earning a smile from Blue. He didn’t even know why he was saying all of this stuff, it just felt right.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the kudos and comments! It means a lot that you guys are enjoying my weird story.

When Coran and some other guards finally found the two boys, they had been on the beach for nearly an hour, just talking, even if Keith carried the whole conversation. Lance would still make remarks by writing in the sand, trying to keep Keith smiling, even if it was just a small one. He wanted to tell Keith who he really was, but every time he tried to write it, a burning sensation would go up his wrist. He would usually wave Keith away when he tried to inspect it, but after the fifth time, he relented and they looked at it.  
The skin looked normal, save for the bubbling nerves under it. Tight purple vines swirled around under his skin, creating a sort of web that had both boys terrified.

“Are you okay?” Keith whispered to him while they were being escorted to the castle, “That whole thing with your arm looked like it really freaked you,”

Lance nodded, absentmindedly rubbing his forearm. He hadn’t even thought about the whole contract with Haggar, but something in the back of his mind told him that it was all part of the agreement. He had to make Keith fall in love with him, and that wouldn’t happen if he knew who he was.

They all arrived at the castle and were faced with a grumpy Shiro floating outside of the doors. “You two were at the surface,” he stated, phrasing it more like a statement than a question.

Lance saw Keith nod and avert his gaze, so he decided to be brave for him. He lifted his chin, looked Shiro dead in the eyes, and nodded firmly. 

Shiro seemed a little taken aback by this, but composed himself quickly. “I have already told you not to go to the surface anymore, Keith,” he snapped, crossing his muscled arms, “You could’ve been hurt,”

“And you,” he said, rounding on Lance, “Why in the world would you bring him up there?”

Lance jumped back a little at the sudden contact, but leveled an angry glare at Shiro. He pointed to Keith, then formed a heart with his hands and broke it quickly, and made a tear track on his angry face. He was sad he signed in his own language.

Shiro’s eyes softened a little and the two turned to Keith, who was floating to the side and staring at the floor, not even paying attention and trying to distract himself from being yelled at.

“Keith,” Shiro said, making the boy look up, “I know that you like the surface and the humans, but you know how I feel about them,”  
Keith nodded glumly and fidgeted with his hands. “Yes, sir,” he mumbled, sending a spike of something Lance didn’t like through his chest.

Lance quickly shook his head and gestured around to get everyone’s attention on him. He pointed to the surface, then to Keith, then brought both of his fingers to the corner of his mouth and smiled. It makes him happy he signed, immediately going back to his sour face when he was done.

Shiro blinked, floating there in front of the castle, his arms slowly uncrossing as he turned towards Keith. “Does going there really make you happy?” he asked slowly.

Keith nodded and finally looked up from the sea floor. “It just makes me calm and my mind at peace,” he mumbled, sniffing. 

Shiro seemed to come to an internal agreement with himself and relaxed, smiling slightly. “Then you may keep going,” he said.

“However,” he stated when Keith’s face shot up with a surprised look, “So long as you return home by nightfall and you stay here for important events,”

“I will, Shiro,” Keith said, awe in his voice at his statement. The two shared a long hug, one that left Keith crying silently. He and Lance left for their rooms a few minutes later, both suddenly too tired to even swim straight.

“Oh, and Blue,” Keith said, pausing outside of his bedroom door, “Thank you for that,” Lance slowly grinned as Keith went into his room. After a minute of just floating there, Lance rocketed into his own room and let out a silent whoop.

He’s warming up to me! He thought with triumph We’ll be together in no time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haggar watched through the orb that was floating above her crystal. The merman was actually starting to warm up to the boy and it was only the fifth day. She had to do something to stop it. A thought came to her and, with the flick of her hand, the largest book in her collection floated over to her. The spell she needed was near the front, and it would do perfectly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a little shorter than the other chapters, but I promise the others will be longer. Anyway, thanks for all the kudos and comments! I really appreciate it!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the kudos and comments! It means a lot that you guys are enjoying my weird story.

Keith would never admit to it, but he really was starting to warm up to Blue. When he had played the harp the second day he was there, he had transported Keith to the beach, watching Lance play. It wasn’t the same song, but it was definitely close, making Keith ache for the light on the surface and the sand beneath his fins. When Blue had helped him get to that very beach a few days later, well, Keith was ecstatic. He almost hugged him.

The sixth day was filled with showing Blue some of his strategies in training, which Blue was happy to watch. After a few minutes of watching, he seemed to want to try and quickly grabbed a sword hanging on the wall.

He found out very quickly that he was not good at the training. The training dummy would attack him mercilessly, the coral sword hitting him in the side and sending him careening into the opposite wall. Keith laughed at first, but, when Blue started to actually look scared, he stopped the simulation and managed to calm him down with some food.

“How about we go to the surface?” he asked when he saw that Blue was still a little shaken up, “I know something up there that will definitely cheer you up,”

Blue nodded enthusiastically and followed Keith out of the castle and up to the surface, silently laughing when his head broke through the waves. The two swam over to the rock Keith would usually hide behind and watched the beach with intensity. Keith was trying to find Lance, but with every minute that passed that he didn’t show up, more worry twisted through his gut.

“He should’ve been here by now,” he muttered, turning to Blue, who was tracing patterns on the rocks.

Blue looked up and tilted his head to the side. “Lance,” Keith answered him, “He’s usually here by now,”

At that, Blue’s eyes widened and he swallowed something in his throat, nerves seeming to get the best of him. He looked like he would explode any minute.

Keith took no notice. “I’m gonna go see what’s up,” he stated and began to swim over to the beach, but Blue grabbed his arm to stop him.

“What?” Keith growled, tugging his arm out of Blue grasp. Blue pointed towards the beach and Keith turned and saw two people walking down onto it.

“Hunk and Pidge, maybe they know what happened to Lance,” Keith breathed and began swimming over anyway. Blue caught his arm again not too far away and Keith looked back, irritated. The look quickly melted off of his face when he saw Blue’s distressed look.

“Okay, maybe we’ll just eavesdrops,” Keith said, seeing some of the tension in Blue shoulder let up. The other merman nodded and they swam over together, hiding behind another rock just within earshot of the two humans.

“Why did we even come here?” Pidge asked, irritated, “It will just make us sadder,”

“Because,” Hunk said back, unloading a basket of flowers he was carrying, “Lance would’ve wanted us to,”

“I know, I just,” Pidge began, choking back a few tears, “What if it wasn’t really an accident.

Keith stared at the two with mild concern as Hunk went to give Pidge a hug, which they graciously accepted. What happened? Keith thought, a knot twisting in his stomach. He didn’t like this.

“I know, I know,” Hunk cooed, trying to calm Pidge down, “It probably was an accident, but, I know that there’s a possibility that it wasn't,” He trailed off slightly, light tears tracing down his own cheeks.

“Why didn’t we ever see it sooner!” Pidge wailed, pushing out of the hug and flopping down into the sand, “We’re his best friends and we never saw when he was hurting!”

At that, Hunk began to cry forcefully, his face scrunching up and his fists curling in on themselves so that the knuckles turned white. “I don’t know,” he whispered, falling down into the sand next to him.

Keith silently swam to get a closer look at the flowers, much to Blue’s silent protests. When he got closer, he was able to read the careful handwriting on a little note in the middle of the blue forget-me-nots. 

'Lance McClain, Born July 28 2001- Died November 18 2018' it read. Keith stared at it for a moment longer before the realization his him full force in the face. Died Died Died Died Died the word echoes in his head, along with the whole conversation Hunk and Pidge were having.

They’re mourning he thought, tears pricking at the edges of his vision They came here to mourn.

He felt tight hands around his arm and turned to see Blue, who was giving him a pleading look, telling him to back away. His eyes swept over the card and he froze, his grip on Keith’s arm going slack.

Died he mouthed, his eyes blowing wide and unreadable. He looked back up at Keith and quickly began to pull him away from the beach and back towards Altea.

“He’s… he’s dead,” Keith mumbled when they stopped just outside of the city, “He died,”

Blue quickly ducked his head to look him in the eyes, but Keith pushed him away, wanting to get as far away from everything as possible. He let out a screamed that pierced through the whole city. It made his ears ringing, but he didn’t care, all he could feel were the fears and anger and sadness in his chest that began to spread out through the rest of his body.

Blue let him, his eyes scrunched, like he was calculating a math problem. He looked like he was thinking, then a realization seemed to hit him, his eyes blowing wide in anger.  
Keith payed him no attention as he swam back to the castle, attracting looks from nearby citizens. They watched as their young prince stumbled through the water, tears streaming down his face as he swam in almost record time to the castle.

“Keith, are you-?” Allura said, swimming up to him from the front of the castle, but she was cut off as Keith let out another scream and kept swimming towards his room. Allura, Shiro, and Coran all floated outside of the castle, silent as Keith’s screams and wails filled the water. A door was heard shutting and the screaming became muffled, but it was still there.

Blue swam up not too long after, pity and something else in his eyes. Anger maybe?

“Blue, what happened?” Allura cried, swimming up to him, “Why is Keith so upset?”

Blue floated there for a minute before pointing to the surface with a solemn look, then dragging his thumb across his throat. He looked just as upset, but it a different way.

“The surface died?” Allura asked, tilting her head to the side on confusion.

“No,” Shiro said from behind her, “That boy he’s always talking about. He died,”  
Allura gasped and covered her face with her hands, her own tears streaming down her face. Coran floated there silently, staring after Keith as if trying to communicate telepathically. Blue floated over to the castle after Shiro, passing by Keith’s door on the way. His screams had subsided, but his sobs and wails had not.

“Leave him,” Shiro said when Blue reached for the handle, “We need to let him do this himself,”

Blue stared at the handle and sighed, but nodded, floating into his own room with a frown. It was too early in the day, but he had someone he needed to see about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens~ 
> 
> Hope you guys are enjoying this so far! It's really fun to write!


	10. Chapter 10

Lance was basically fuming as he swam towards the surface. He didn’t even think he could go as fast as he was, but he shot through the water like a bullet. There was only one place he had to get to, and it rage was fueling his whole body, from his head to his fins.

He reached the edge of the cliff in record time and began to hurl rocks at the window of the cottage at the edge. After a minute, Haggar came out, looking serene, like she had been expecting him. Her hand rose up and so did the water surrounding Lance.

He was too filled with rage to really resist, so he rode up the fountain with his teeth bared. When he reached the top, Haggar rose another hand and he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his mind.

_Gah!_ He thought, clutching his head _That hurt!_

_I should hope so_ a cool voice spoke in his head _That means it’s working._

Lance screamed silently when he realized that the voice was not his own. _Witch, are you in my head!?_ He mentally yelled.

Haggar nodded and her voice played out in his mind, her lips remaining still. _I can not give you your voice, but I had a feeling there was something you wished to tell me._

Lance snapped out of his shock at those words and his face twisted into anger again. _YOU TOLD EVERYONE THAT I WAS DEAD!!!!_ He screamed in his head, moving his mouth with the words. He needed to at least feel like he was really yelling.

_I did_ she said, smiling _I do not see the problem, you wished to be with your prince, so I told your family something to ease their minds when you didn’t come home._

_Keith found out!_ Lance yelled, face turning red _He’s never gonna kiss me, now!_

Haggar smiled a twisted smile, one that made Lance’s insides twist. _Then you’ll be my servant for the rest of your days_ she whispered, her smile twisting into something sickening.

Lance’s stomach twisted in so many ways, it was a miracle that he didn’t throw up. _You did this on purpose_ he whispered, his breathing picking up.

Haggar merely smiled and released the water holding Lance, allowing him to fall back to the ocean. He hit the water with a splash, but he barely even felt it, the numbness in his tail keeping him stationary.

He was instantly reminded of the time after his jump. The water rushing around him as he sank deeper, little bubbles coming in and out of his mouth and nose, numbness throughout his whole body. The only difference was that he could still breathe, the water coming in and out of his mouth in short bursts.

_She planned this_ he thought, finally picking himself up from the ocean floor and slowly floating back towards the castle _She knew this would happen._

He came back to the castle roughly two hours later, the sun already beginning to slowly rise through the waters. The guards at the front gate regarded him with a small look, but said nothing, knowing that he had gone out a few hours earlier.

_What am I gonna do?_ Lance thought to himself as he laid on his bed. Exhaustion from staying up all night began to catch up to him and he felt his whole body slowly turn into lead, until he was snoring softly.

_He was crying, heavy tears pouring out of his eyes where he sat, his tail slick with the water. His whole body felt numb, but he couldn’t do anything about it. All he wanted to do was cry._

_“There there,” a gentle voice said above him, “Don’t cry,” Cold fingers wrapped around Lance’s chin and lifted his head up to meet the owner’s eyes. Haggar stood above him, a large smirk on her face and a whip in her hand._

_“Time to work,” she whispered, lashing out at him with the whip. It hit him on the face, blinding him to everything around him with a sting that burned with more fire than a forge._

_The darkness around him began to swirl, small shapes appearring, flickering into existence, until he was sitting in a room that looked like it was having a party held in it. People were walking around Lance, basically ignoring him as he stood, somehow on two legs. Immediately, he spotted Pidge and Hunk and ran up to them._

_“You know, I’m not even sure why we mourned him,” Pidge said, taking a drink from the cider glass in her hand. Lance stopped at that, watching the two with a frightful stare._

_“Yeah,” Hunk replied back, “Not sure either, he was pretty annoying now that I think about it,” He took a drink of his own cider glass, downing it in one gulp._

_Pidge laughed when he sputtered, then sighed loudly, thinking. “He didn’t even hang out with us all that often,” she muttered bitterly, “He was always on that beach with that stupid guitar of his,”_

_Lance began to cry at that, realizing that he was right. He had never once tried to solve his problems with their friends, and he spent more time on the beach with his guitar than he did with them. He was a terrible friend._

_Hunk seemed to laugh at something Pidge said, the sound echoing through Lance’s head and making his dizzy. He collapsed onto the floor, clutching his head to try and get the pounding to stop. The sting from Haggar’s whip returned, stinging at his eyes and cheeks as the world seemed to spin around him._

_When it all stopped, Lance looked up and saw Keith. He was sitting on a rock, looking over at the beach with a blank expression. Lance swam up to him, in his merman form this time._

_“I hate you,” Keith said when he got close, “I hate you, Blue,” Lance paused, staring up at Keith with a hurt expression. Why would he ever say that?_

_“I’ll never be able to care about you the way I cared about Lance,” Keith spoke again, making Lance’s heart twist. He wanted to scream out ‘I am Lance! Don’t you see!? I’m right here!’ but he couldn’t, his throat seeming to close up and cut off his breathing._

_“You can go and get caught in a fish net for all I care,” Keith muttered, giving Lance a glare. Lance looked up at him and saw that his beautiful eyes had changed. Instead of the lovely shade of indigo that made Lance’s heart melt, they were blood red, taking up all the space in his eyes and leaving no room for the pupils or whites. The marks on his face were different, too, carving down his face, like bloody tears._

_“I hope you die,” he said, his voice was distorted and lowered down at least three octaves, sounding like he was inside his head._

_Lance’s throat decided to finally close up, cutting off all of his breathing in one click. He began to choke, gasping for air and clawing at his throat with his nails. His vision faded, swirling into all black as Pidge and Hunk’s laughter mixed with Haggar’s, and Keith words echoed in his head. It all was just too much._

Lance suddenly sat up, gasping for air, his nails digging into the skin around his neck. When he realized what he was doing, he slowly pulled his hands away from his neck and closed his mouth. His fingers and nails were caked with bright red blood that floated through the water in strips, dancing through the air like ribbons.

Glancing out his window, he saw that it was nearly noon. If he wanted to get Keith to kiss him before sunset, he would have to act fast.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I can say is that you guys are gonna hate me so much

Keith was sitting at the lunch table, staring at his food when Blue arrived. He didn’t look up, favoring to stare numbly at his plate while his stomach gave a frustrated growl. He wasn’t eating and he knew it wasn’t good for him, but he just couldn’t seem to stomach anything that he usually would. It just came right back up.

“Blue! What happened!?” Allura yelled, making Keith glance up. His eyes connected with Blue’s helpless form and to say he was surprised was an understatement. There was blood leaking out of multiple scratch marks on his neck and face, and some slowly floating off of his hands. He looked tired, even though he had been sleeping until noon, purple spots under his eyes looking almost like bruises. He was hunched over as Allura and Shiro quickly pulled him over to the medic to get him healed up. It made Keith’s heart twist in a way that almost had him crying.

“Blue,” Keith said, his voice carrying through the dining hall with a fragile grace, “What happened to you?”

Blue looked up from the floor and quickly squashed his hands together at the palms, then put them to the side of his head. Quickly, he scrunched his face up, like something was bothering him, but then went back to normal almost immediately.  _ Nightmare _ he said.

“Come on, let’s get you to the healing pods,” Shiro said, gently guiding Blue towards the healing bay not too far away from the dining hall. Allura followed close behind, lightly touching Blue shoulder to make sure he wasn’t going to fall over.

Keith sat there in the dining hall, numb everywhere but his heart. He wanted to just sit and stew in his negative emotions and think about Lance, but he also felt a tug towards the fragile, little merman with the scars on his neck. Giving into his heart, he slowly swam up and went towards the healing room.

Inside, he saw Blue’s neck and face being patched up, then he was slowly edged into one of the healing pods, which basically just looked like a teal egg with glass on the front so one could see the person inside. Blue didn’t to want to, though, as he began to resist the pull of the medics towards the pod. When they finally got him pinned in,the glass came in around him, enveloping Blue in a comfort that Keith had felt multiple times. Soon enough, his eyes were closing and he fell into a deep sleep while his wounds were being patched up.

“Did he sign what he dreamed about?” Keith asked, swimming up to where Allura, Shiro, and Coran were floating in front of the pod.

“Afraid not,” Coran said, stroking his mustache, “When we asked, he averted his eyes and shook his head. That was all we got out of him,”

Keith looked back at the merman in the healing pod and his whole heart fell. The monitors off to the side were showing a bunch of things that he didn’t understand, but he did notice that Blue had to be in there for a few hours at least.

“Do you think he’ll be alright?” Keith asked, watching as Blue’s face scrunched up again, “Mentally?”

“We’re not sure,” Allura said, swimming over to place a cautious hand on the glass of the pod, “I think he was dreaming about whatever made him mute,”

Keith glanced at her and gave her a weird face, before turning to Shiro and Coran for help. “Keith, you know as well as I do that merpeople can’t be born mute,” Shiro sighed, “whatever happened to him, it must’ve been bad, especially if he wasn’t swimming right when he got here,”

Keith pondered that for a moment while they all waited. If Blue vitals were anything to go by, he was definitely having another nightmare. His fingers twitched, like he wanted to grab at something, but the pods basically shut down most of his muscles, so he couldn’t.

After a couple of hours of waiting, where no one wanted to leave the room, the healing pod gave a little beep and opened up. Blue’s eyes snapped open as he fell to the ground, Keith right there to catch him. His eyes flitted around for a moment before settling on Keith, who gave him a sad look. Blue burst into tears at that, burying his face into Keith’s chest as silent sobs wracked his body.

Keith looked back up at the other three in the room with him, then back down at Blue. Coming to a decision, he slowly rubbed his nose into Blue’s soft, white hair, trying to calm him down. His sobs did seem to slow, but they didn’t stop as he heaved large, labored breaths in an attempt to calm down as well.

“Do you wanna go play some music to see if it will help?” Keith asked him, cracking a smile when he nodded.

He slowly helped Blue up from their spot on the floor and gently lead him to the music room, ignoring the others’ worried glances. The music room was empty, like usual, so Keith lead Blue over to the side of the wall and got him his favorite harp.

“You play, and I’ll sing?” he asked, handing the harp to him with careful fingers. Blue’s face lit up slightly at that, and he grabbed the harp with a slight jump.

Keith watched as he positioned it correctly, then began to play the cords. He recognized it instantly as a human song “Song of the Sea”, took a deep breath and began to sing.

“Hush, now my Storeen, close you eyes and sleep. Waltzing the waves, diving the deep. Stars are shining bright, the wind is on the rise, whispering words of lost lullabies,” Keith sang out, closing his eyes in bliss. This was always his favorite song to listen to.

“Oh won’t you come with me where the moon is made of gold, and in the morning sun, we’ll be sailing,” He slowly opened his eyes and watched as Blue strummed the harp with light fingers, also watching Keith in awe.

Keith smiled slightly and kept singing. “Oh, won’t you come with me where the ocean meets the sky, and as the clouds roll be, we’ll sing the song of the sea,”

Blue smiled at keith’s words and played louder, prompting Keith to sing with more passion. “I had a dream last night, and heard the sweetest sound. I saw a great, white light, and dancers in the round, castles in the sand, cradles in the trees,” Those lyrics made Keith choke up a little, but he kept singing, shoving the thought of his birth parents out of the window.

“Don’t cry, I’ll see you by and by. Oh, won’t you come with me, where the moon is made of gold, and in the morning sun we’ll be sailing. Oh, won’t you come with me where the ocean meets the sky, and as the clouds roll by, we’ll sing the song of the sea,”

Blue’s harp playing got more intense as the next part came up, so Keith was nearly yelling out the words as he sang. “Rolling. Rolling. Rolling. Rolling,” His words fell small as the solo came up and Blue played even more, scrunching his eyes up as he did so. Keith hadn’t noticed before, but they were a lot closer than they had been a minute ago. He couldn’t find the right to care, though.

After a moment, the next part came. “Oh, won’t you come with me where the moon is made of gold, and in the morning sun we’ll be sailing free,” This part of the song was always his favorite, a part where he could belt out the words.

“Oh, won’t you come with me! Where the ocean meets the sky! And as the clouds roll by, we’ll sing the song of the sea,” Keith sang out, allowing his voice to trail off at the end, listening as Blue played the last parts of the song on his harp, the last note reverberating through the room.

“That was fun,” Keith said breathlessly, watching Blue with a fascination. They were definitely sitting a lot closer, Blue nearly sitting on Keith’s lap, but he couldn’t care. He almost found himself scooting closer.

Blue nodded, tilting his head to the side with a small smile. Yeah, okay, they were really close, close enough that Keith could feel the heat coming of off Blue through the water. They were close enough to….

Keith found himself leaning forwards, Blue doing the same. Their eyes closed and they were so so close, Keith could almost feel Blue’s breath, even through the water that divided them. His heart jumped into his throat when their noses touched and Blue angled himself better, so it wouldn’t happen.

Before they could touch, however, Blue was pulled back by something, the warmth in the water gone in a second. Keith opened his eyes and looked up, crying out at what he saw. A human was in the water with them, floating around as if propelled by some outside force. She was holding out her hand, and formed a bubble around Blue, one that kept him trapped, while the merman sat at the bottom, terrified at what was happening.

“Let him go!” Keith yelled, getting up and drawing his sword. He looked the human dead in the eyes, and really took her in. A cloak floated around her, obscuring her body and face, but what little Keith could see was definitely purple, red marks going down to her chin.

“I’m afraid I can’t,” she said, voice cool,  but gravely at the same time, “This is part of the agreement, you see,”

She snapped her fingers and Blue began to change. His tail split apart and shrunk into legs, his gills and color forming into a pair of shorts. His hair darkened, until it was a shade of chocolate brown, and the blue markings disappeared. When it all stopped, Keith was staring at a very much alive Lance, who was sitting in the bubble with tears in his eyes.

“L-lance?” Keith stuttered out, dropping his sword in surprise. Lance pounded on the bubble with his fists, mouth open as he tried to scream, but he still had no voice. Keith had never seen him this scared.

“Let him go,” Keith repeated, turning to the woman, his voice low and dangerous.

She merely smirked and shook her head, shooting out a burst of lightning that struck Keith straight in the stomach. He shot back into the opposite wall, hitting his head on one of the pipes.

When his vision cleared, he frantically looked back up to try and see where the two had gone, but they were nowhere to be seen. It was like they vanished.

“Lance,” Keith whispered to himself, taking in all that had happened, “He’s alive,”


	12. Chapter 12

Lance watched as Keith was shot into the other wall by the lightning Haggar had shot at him. It pained his heart to see that, and he began to pound his fists on the bubble even harder, drawing some blood from his knuckles and fingers. It was no use, because the bubble held tight, not even moving as Lance smashed his whole body into the side.

He turned to Haggar to tell her to let him go, but she had raised her fingers and snapped, sending a sharp pain through Lance’s skull. Lance’s eyes snapped shut out of habit and he clutched his head, trying to will it away. It was gone almost as soon as it came, and he was able to open his eyes, devastated to see that they were at Haggar’s hut on the surface.

“Now,” Haggar said, allowing the bubble to pop and letting Lance fall to the ground, “I need you to get me some firewood,” Lance opened his mouth to protest and maybe give her some choice words, but a pain went through his whole body, causing him to drop to the ground. If he still had his voice, his screams would’ve echoed throughout the whole town and maybe caused an avalanche, even though there were no mountains nearby.

“I probably should’ve warned you,” Haggar laughed out quietly, squatting down to where Lance writhed, “If you refuse, this searing pain will go on until you agree,”

Lance looked up at her, tears streaming down his face as the pain increased. He was barely able to form a single thought, but when he was finally able to think  _ yes _ , the pain stopped and he laid on the ground, trying to compose himself.

“There,” Haggar cooed, gently patting his cheek with a cold hand, “Now, go get me the firewood I need,” Lance was only able to nod and heave himself up to the best of his abilities. If he was going to be like this forever, he might as well get used to it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keith swam through the castle, his tail pushing him faster than he should’ve been able to go, but he was filled with a cold, hard determination. He swam until he got to the throne room, bursting in with a shout and quickly swimming towards Shiro.

“Woah,” Shiro said when he nearly ran into him, “What’s wrong?” He bent down and saw the angry tear tracks going down keith’s face. His face was red, and his eyes were slowly turning yellow in his anger.

“Someone took Lance,” Keith said through gritted teeth, knowing he had to explain what was going on before going crazy.

Shiro’s eyebrows knit into confusion and he straightened. “I thought Lance-” he was cut off as Keith held up a frustrated hand to silence him.

“Blue,” he grit out, “Blue was Lance and he got taken,” His breaths were becoming labored as he tried to keep his cool. It took all of his strength not to lash out at someone.

Understanding dawned on Shiro’s face and he held up his hand, the one made of magic coral. “You want to go to the surface to save him,” he said, knowing his son well enough to phrase it like a statement.

Keith’s tears increased and he was nearly smashing his teeth together to keep from screaming out in agony. “Please,” he managed, “I need to be human again,”

Shiro looked up from studying his fingers and frowned, knowing full well what Keith meant. “Are you sure?” he asked, placing both hands on his shoulders, “You have no idea how to operate a human body,”

Keith looked up at him with a hard look and nearly glared. “I can figure it out,” he said softly, “I just need to save him,”

Shiro sighed, but relented, swimming back to get some room. He held out his hand and began to chant some words under his breath, ones that he had hoped he would never have to use. A soft beam of purple light shot out of his hand and wrapped itself around Keith, like a blanket. Keith closed his eyes and allowed himself to be taken by the warm blanket that was beginning to work its magic on his body.

He felt his tail split into two and shrink, his toes being the first thing he felt. His gills closed up and he was left with just his mouth to breath out of, the purple blanket providing a bubble for him to breathe in. His hair didn’t change, but he felt the markings on his face disappear, the little that had been illuminating the bubble gone after a moment. 

After a few minutes of that, the blanket stopped swirling and slowly went back into Shiro’s hand, seeming to step back to admire its work on Keith. He floated there, his legs limp in the water while he looked down at his new body. 

“There,” Shiro said, sounding exhausted. Then, he handed Keith a red and purple shell that looked like a horn. “Blow this when you’re ready, and I will come get you,”

Keith examined the shell for a minute, then smiled, throwing his arms around his father. “Thank you,” he choked out. 

Once the hug was done, he turned around to swim out, but found that he was just as useless at swimming with two legs as Lance was with a tail. Shiro chuckled behind him, then called Coran into the room. After a brief explanation, Coran was more than happy to help guide Keith to the surface.

They swam for quite some time, Keith sometimes looking back to look at his new body, causing them to crash into a rock or two, but Coran was more than helpful. After what felt like forever, their head broke the surface, and Keith’s bubble popped, allowing him to breathe in air from the sky. It felt weird inside his nose, the cool feeling a little different when it wasn’t also flitting through his gills.

“Here you are,” Coran said when they got to the beach, gently pushing Keith into the sand, “I’ve got to get back to the castle. Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“I’ll be fine, Coran,” Keith said, gently wiggling his toes, “This’ll just take some getting used to,”

Coran nodded and silently swam back to Altea, the worry of what Keith was doing eating at his insides. That left Keith alone on the secluded beach with nothing but a small tarp nearby. First, to learn to walk.

He had seen Lance and his friends do it a million times, so he thought it would be easy. Oh, how wrong he was. The most he could get without falling was 7 steps, then his legs would turn to jelly and he would hit the sand with a thud. He was persistent, though, and was practicing throughout the day, until someone came by and messed him up.

The gasp carried down from the top of the dune and down to Keith’s ears, and he turned to see who had come to his practice range. At the top of the dune stood Pidge and Hunk, baskets in hand, presumably for a picnic. They stood there with their mouths hanging open, until Keith realized who they were and called out to them.

“Hunk! Pidge! I need some help!” he called, forgetting that they had no idea who he was.

“How do you know us?” Pidge said in her loud voice, shooting Keith a terrified glare.

“Oh, right,” Keith mumbled, remembering the situation, “Can you come down so I can explain it better?”

“No, I’m good just staying here,” Hunk called, but Pidge slowly walked down the dune, prompting Hunk to follow, despite his protests.

When they got there, Pidge had to avert her gaze away from Keith, since he hadn’t been wearing anything when he transformed. “My name is Keith,” Keith stated, scooting around to face them fully, “I’m a friend of Lance,”

At that, the two friends visibly deflated, looking to the sand with tears in their eyes. “So, he told you about us?” Hunk asked, wiping away at his eyes.

“Not exactly,” Keith said, looking up at the two with another hard look, “Lance is alive, but he won’t be if you don’t help me,”

At that, the two friends looked up and nearly dropped their baskets, watching Keith with looks that looked of hope and doubt and fear. They stood there for another moment before Keith told them to sit down and they obliged with shaky legs. Once they were seated, keith took a deep breath and told them everything.


	13. Chapter 13

“So, you’re the merman Lance was going on about for a week?” Pidge asked, leaning back on her hands. She stared up at the sky as if begging it for a logical explanation for all of what Keith had just explained to her.

Hunk wasn’t any better. His legs were crossed tight and he was staring at his hands with an intensity that would’ve sent Keith back to the sea, had it been directed at him. He shook from head to toe, like he was trying not to cry from stress, which nearly made Keith want to hug him.

“Yeah,” Keith answered Pidge’s question, crossing his arms, then the question actually processed. “Wait, he talked about me for a week?” he exclaimed, uncrossing his arms and jumping up, which resulted in him immediately falling down again with a thump.

The two sitting in the sand snickered a little, but neither fully smiled, still trying to process what Keith had told them. “Yeah,” Hunk sniffed, drawing in the sand, “He would go on and on for hours just talking about the merman who saved his life,”

Keith blushed at that, thinking back to the night that had felt like an eternity ago, even if it was only two weeks. “I just listened to him about what was bothering him,” he mumbled, eyeing the cliff Lance had jumped off of that night.

A loud sniff caught his attention and he turned back to see Pidge rubbing her eyes with her sleeve, harder than she should’ve. “We need to find him,” she stated, standing abruptly and walking up the dune. Keith and Hunk stayed still, looking rather amused that Pidge completely forgot about Keith’s problem.

“What are you two waiting for?” Pidge yelled over her shoulder when she realized they weren't following.

“I can’t walk properly, remember?” Keith said, standing to prove his point and falling flat on his butt. 

Hunk snorted at that, quickly making his way over to help. “You should also get some pants,” he remarked, glancing down at the rest of Keith.

Keith looked down at himself, too, his eyes slowly wandering around his new body. “Why?” he asked,staring back up at Hunk, “What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing!” Hunk exclaimed, hoping he hadn’t offened Keith, “It’s just that humans usually wear clothes, like we do,” He gestured to himself and Pidge, who has stayed turned around when she heard Keith get up.

“Please,” Pidge sighed, “I really don’t want to ever see a guy’s-,”

“Aaaaand we don’t have anything,” Hunk yelled, cutting her off. Pidge snickered, but said nothing when Hunk scowled at her.

“There’s a tarp over there,” Keith supplied, pointing towards the sheet at the end of the small beach. Hunk turned to see it and began to walk, but was held back when Keith clung to his arm to keep from falling. While Hunk tried to right him, Pidge rolled her eyes and walked over to the tarp, bringing it towards the two boys.

With the help of some rope lying next to the tarp, they were able to fasten it around Keith waist in a sort of mock skirt. The rope was looped through the rings of the top of the tarp and as tied right under Keith’s belly button, the whole thing wrapping around him three times. It wasn’t the best, but it would do if anyone saw the three of them on the way to the McClain’s house.

No one did. Since it was only a five minute walk to the house, since one had to go up the hill to get to it, and most people were at home, since it was after sundown still. Pidge was the one to knock on the door, since Hunk was carrying Keith and she was too small to even think about it. Also, she didn’t want to.

“Hello?” Mrs. McClain said, cracking the door open slightly. Keith couldn’t see much more than her copper skin and brown hair, because the door was blocking her from view, but he could tell she had been crying. Her voice was rough and unforgiving in her throat, making Keith clear his own in an attempt to get the phantom feeling out.

“Who’s that you have with you, dear?” Mrs. McClain asked, opening the door more to get a good look at Keith, “I thought only Hunk wa-,” She stopped at the sight of Keith, staring at him with wide eyes, her mouth falling open. 

While she stared like that, Keith was able to get a good look at her. Her brown hair was long and tied up into a bun on the top of her head, and her copper skin looked like it was actually beginning to pale. Her eyes were green-ish blue, and rimmed with red, like she had been crying. Wrinkles dotted her frail form, but they were at the edges of her eyes and mouth, making Keith almost smile. Laugh lines were always his favorite part about older people.

“Who- who?” Mrs. McClain stuttered, staring at Keith with wide eyes.

“Short version,” Pidge said quickly, pulling at her long hair, “This is Keith, the one Lance went on about and now Lance is trapped at the witch’s place and we need to keep Keith here, so we can teach him the basics of humans before we go rescue Lance,” She said it all in one breath, turning red in the face and swaying slightly. It didn’t phase Mrs. McClain or Hunk, though they did look a bit worried. Keith guessed it happened often.

They all stood there for a minute longer, Pidge huffing and puffing, trying to catch her breath, Hunk holding Keith up, and Mrs. McClain staring at them all, like she had just seen a ghost. It was, honestly, a little surreal, and it made Keith think about how real the situation was.

After a minute, Mrs. McClain seemed to snap out of her daze and she silently beckoned the three inside. They all quickly went in and mae their way into the living room, passing a large amount of family members, some of which Keith recognized, but most he didn’t.

“You two can sit on the couch,” Mrs. McClain said to Hunk and Pidge, “I’ll find some clothes for Keith to wear,”

Hunk seemed to forget about Keith’s situation and let go of him. Keith swayed for a minute, able to stay on his feet for a while, before he tried to take a step and fell forward.

“You can’t walk?” a small voice said beside him. Keith brought his face up from the cream colored carpet, and looked up to see a pair of small children in front of him.

One of them was a girl and the other was a boy, but for the most part, they were exactly the same. They both had the same chocolate colored hair and copper skin, bright pajamas on their bodies. The girl was holding a book, like they were about to get read to bed.

Keith shook his head, looking at the two with pity for himself. “No, I can’t,” he sighed, using his arms to push himself into a sitting position.

“Like Ariel?” the girl yelled, jumping up and down. The boy, once he had heard her say that, smiled wide and repeated the question, also jumping up and down.

Pidge started laughing, but Keith just sat there, a puzzled expression on his face. “Who’s Ariel?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

The two kids instantly stopped jumping to gape at him, giving him a surprised stare. “You’ve never seen the Little Mermaid?” the boy screeched, bringing his hands to the sides of his face, “How?”

“Ariel is a mermaid,” the girl said, turning the book so that the cover was facing Keith. 

He leaned forwards and took a look at the cover, smiling a little. “Yeah,” he said after a minute, “Exactly like Ariel,”

The girl dropped her book and began screaming, prompting Mrs. McClain to grab her and quiet her down. The boy just stood there with a surprised look on his face, a large grin slowly spreading across it. Oh, Keith was gonna like these two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I got my wisdom teeth out today,so this is gonna be my last chapter for a few days. I can barely type this out and I was lucky enough that I had written this a couple days ago.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this took so long guys, but I've been having a lot of problems outside of this, plus I have a lot of things going on in theatre. I hope you guys enjoy and thank you for being so patient with me.

Mrs. McClain ended up having to send the twins to bed, since they kept badgering Keith with questions, saying that they had something to talk about. Keith probably wouldn’t’ve minded, except that it was true.

“So, what do we need to do?” Mrs. McClain asked, her hands folded in front of her cup of cocoa. She had sat the three teens down at the table and Veronica was with them, aftering putting all of her younger siblings and cousins to be. The grandparents were in bed, too, saying that they were old. 

“I need to learn to walk, for starters,” Keith said, his leg bouncing nervously under the table. He hadn’t touched his own cocoa, which had begun to turn cold. Pidge and Hunk also had mugs of their own, but Pidge wasn’t touching hers, while Hunk seemed to be stress eating.

“That shouldn't be too hard,” Pidge said, adjusting her glasses, “Your brain is already developed quite far enough to learn and control your muscles, so it wouldn’t take years, like it would for a baby,”

“Good,” Keith said, nodding and turning back to Mrs. McClain, “and I need to know where the witch lives,”

“A ew mies orth o us, jus fowow de efe of the ciff,” Hunk said through a mouthful of cookies that he had found in what Mrs. McClain called the “pantry”. Humans were strange.

“Hunk, swallow before you speak,” Mrs. McClain snapped in a way that gave Keith flashbacks of Shiro. His mind instantly went to the time him and Adam had argued over the table over whether or not Keith could have dessert. Tears began to sting Keith’s eyes at the memory and her quickly wiped them away before anyone could see them.

“A few miles North of us, just follow the edge of the cliff,” Hunk managed after swallowing the cookies in his mouth, “She lives alone,” Then, he went back to stuffing cookies into his mouth, worried tears streaming down his face.

Veronica, who had been quite this whole time, suddenly slammed her hands on the table and stood up. Her fingers were clenched into fists that turned her knuckles white, and her brown hair hung in front of her face, while clear drops fell onto the table.

“If she does anything to my little brother,” she growled, her head bent even lower, “I will rip her into pieces until her screams are drowned out by her sins,” 

Everyone around the table looked at each other, worry for both their own safety and everyone’s within 100 miles. Veronica stood still, her breaths heavy and her arms shaking.

“I just want him to be safe,” she whispered, sitting back down. Mrs. McClain took her by the hand and quietly lead her out of the room, leaving the other three to try and process what had just happened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To say Lance was miserable was to say the least. He was being tortured. Not only was he only allowed a single meal a day, just composed of a piece of bread and some water, but Haggar also kept him awake all hours. She would wake him up at midnight to do all the chores and not let him go to sleep again until 11 that night.

Haggar herself, however, only worked on potions and spells, sometimes testing the more dangerous ones on Lance himself. So far, he had grown eyes all over his body, vomited in the flower beds for three hours straight, and lost his tongue. He began to suspect that she was just doing it to see how long he would survive, but he couldn’t do anything to defend himself. If he had to guess, Lance probably had a day or two left.

One day, a week into this, Lance found himself listening to Haggar as she was making one particular potion that had been taking her a good three days. She was talking to herself and scowling into the pot in thought.

“I’ll be ready when he gets here,” she said, twirling the green liquid around in the pot with a metal spoon, “He will come, and when he does, I will make his father pay for killing my husband,”

She turned to a rag that hung on the wall, something Lance was not allowed to touch or even look at, and moved it back, revealing a picture and a couple candles, like a shrine. The candles were purple and the flames glowed a strange gold, rather than the normal purple. The picture was of a man that seemed to have pale purple skin and a mouth full of jagged teeth. A scar ran down his left eye, which seemed to glow in the light of the candles, making Lance shiver and want to scream. The man wore what seemed to be a pirate’s outfit, something Lance hadn’t heard of anywhere, except in stories. 

“I will avenge you, my dear Zarkon,” Haggar said, stroking the picture, then she turned towards the door, causing Lance to basically launch himself into the flower beds to not get caught.

“Boy!” Haggar called, exiting her hut and looking around. Lance quickly stood up, getting dizzy for a second, and tried to play it off as if he had been trying to tend to the flowers, even though it was all for naught.

He looked up and tilted his head to the side, silently asking if she needed him to go do something. He still didn’t have his voice after all.

“I’m going to town to get something,” Haggar said, scowling down at Lance with a suspicious look, “You are not to go inside, but stay out here and dig a large hole in the yard,”

Lance nodded, then stood up and began to walk around the house, but was stopped when something poked him in the back, nearly knocking him over. He looked back and saw Haggar holding a shovel towards him, the tip of the handle a couple of inches from his back. 

“I need this done quickly,” she said, dropping it into the dirt and walking in the direction of town. Lance scrambled to get the shovel and quickly made his way around the house to start digging. 

_ I wonder why she needs this. _ He thought, finding a layout lined out with string and pegs. After a few hours, realization dawned on him and he realized that it was starting to look like a grave.


	15. Chapter 15

“There it is,” Pidge said, crouching behind a bush a half a mile away from the witch’s house. They had gone at night, hoping to get more coverage and less witch, thinking she slept.

“Then we should go and get him,” Keith said, nearly sprinting out of the bush, but trip and was dragged back by the collar of his shirt by Hunk. He was wearing one of Lance’s old, black shirts, which still managed to be a little bit too big on him, a pair of blue jeans, and red sneakers Pidge had lent him that had belonged to her brother. They had even managed to teach him how to properly walk, but he still couldn’t run without tripping on his own feet.

“Wait,” Hunk said softly, sitting him back down, “We need to stick to the plan and scout out the area to make sure everything is where it needs to be for it to work,”

Keith scowled at the ground, but nodded, wanting more than anything to get Lance back and safe at home.

“Okay, I’ll go see where she sleeps and I’ll try to find Lance as well,” Pidge whispered, disappearing out of view with the flick of her hood. She was really fast and silent when she wanted to be.

Keith silently crept over to the end of the bush, watching the small figure clad in black running towards the small hut with the big garden, and a bubble of hate grew inside of him. This house belonged to the one who look his two loves away from him, even if they were the same boy. She was the one who hurt the both of them so badly that she had given Keith nightmares the night he had stayed at the McClain’s.

“You know,” Hunk said, startling Keith out of his hate-filled daze, “you remind me a lot of Lance,”

“How so?” Keith asked, turning back to watch for Pidge. Something inside of him stirred at the statement, but he was good at hiding his emotions.

“The amount of determination the two of you share when you’re determined,” Hunk said fondly, staring at the back of Keith’s head, “they way the two of you look when you’re mad, and how much passion you get when it comes to something you love,”

Keith felt himself blush, but didn’t turn around, merely pushing out a small laugh. “You’ve known him for a long time, haven’t you?”

“Ever since the third grade,” Hunk answered, playing with the grass near his knee, “Him, Pidge, and I have been friends since then, thick as thieves,”

Something in the way he said it made Keith finally turn around, and he was faced with Hunk’s soft face scrunched up as his silent tears fell into the grass below. His fists were clenched into the blades, ripping them up and getting thrown into the growing pile at his feet. Nervous habit most likely.

Keith slowly turned and awkwardly placed his hand on Hunk’s shoulder, trying his best to consol the larger boy. He wasn’t the best with emotions, not even his.

“Just try to think about all the good times the two of you had,” Keith said slowly, trying to calm Hunk, “and how much he needs this plan to work,”

“If I may interrupt,” a small voice said beside them, making both boys jump, “We have a slight problem,”

Pidge, who had just returned from scouting, pointed towards the hut. “She’s still awake inside, and Lance is asleep in a little alcove inside, which means that we can’t sneak in and get him,”

“So, Plan B?” Hunk asked, looking at the small girl and boy in front of him.

The two looked at each other and, after a moment of silent communication, nodded. “Plan B,” they said in unison.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Plan B meant figuring out where any weapons were, then blasting in a basically beating Haggar to next week. Then, once everything was done, they’d get Lance out and, hopefully, be able to find where she put his voice.

“I see a few knives on that far wall,” Hunk whispered from the window. Pidge and Keith peeked in and saw that he was right: one of the walls and lined with a small assortment of knives.

“Now, who’s gonna distract her, so that we can go inside and get them?” Pidge asked. She felt the stares of the two boys around her and sighed without even looking up.

“It’s because I’m small and quick, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah,” the two said in unison, earning a groan from their small companion.

“I’ll be right back, but, if she finds out and kills me, I’m gonna haunt the two of you for all of eternity,” she snapped, glaring at the two, now cowering, boys.

“Got it,” Hunk squeaked, apparently used to her antics, but still just as terrified.

Pidge held her glare for a small second longer before rushing off about ten feet away from the front door and yelled. “Hey, you witch, come and get me!”

Keith peeked into the window and saw Haggar look up from her cauldron, a cold stare aimed at the door. She stomped away from her work and made her way towards it, her eyes reading ‘murder’.

Pidge was long gone by then, racing into the tall grass, but making sure that Haggar would be able to notice her, but not know who she was.

Haggar stormed out of her house and scanned the plains, her eyes widening at the sight of the rustling grass. She let out an angry yell and raced after her, leaving the door open for Hunk and Keith.

The two crept into the hut, surprised at how big it was on the inside. They didn’t have time to look around at the place, however, as they made a beeline for the knives, Keith flicking his eyes around to see where Lance was. 

He finally spotted him curled up in an alcove that looked to be made for a small selection of books. The sight of the boy he had fallen for all those years ago nearly made Keith scream.

His arms and legs looked like twigs as they curled around each other in an attempt to keep him warm, since there was no blanket. His hair was thin and greasy, hanging in front of his face in curtains of brown soup. The clothes on his back were the same he had on the last time Keith had seen him, but they were hanging from his frame in loose clumps, making him look smaller than he was. He just looked too small to be healthy.

“Lance,” Hunk breathed behind Keith, nearly making him jump. The two of them knelt down to their friend, and Keith reached out a hand and lightly shook him.

The effect was immediate, but not in a good way. Lance’s eyes shot open and he screamed, barely even looking at the two in front of him. He scrambled out of the alcove and crouched into the closest corner, his continued screams bouncing off of the walls. He had most definitely alerted Haggar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, since the next one will break you! :)


	16. Chapter 16

Lance felt a cold hand wrap around his shoulder, shaking him lightly. Thinking it was Haggar, annoyed at his persistence to stay alive, he jumped up in a panic, screaming his lungs out and shaking everywhere. He blindly felt his way into the closest corner, not wanting the last thing he ever saw to be the old hag who had been keeping him for days, doing nothing but busy work meant to kill him. When he reached it, he made himself as small as possible, trying to stay alive as long as he could. He was not going into a grave he had to dig himself.

He shoved his hands out in front of himself and his palms connected with something soft, but it didn’t move, staying in place, no matter how much force Lance put on it. Curiosity finally took over and he peeled open his eyes, keeping his hands on whatever was in front of him in case it turned out to be evil. What he got was a full surprise, one that left him in tears. Hunk was crouched in front of Lance, whose hands were pushing against his front, a scared and angry look on his face. 

Tears began to stream down his face as he made to hug the giant boy in front of him, his hands curling into fists in the back of his shirt, and his eyes squeezing shut.

Lance pushed himself away and scrubbed at his eyes, trying to get a good look at his best friend. He mouthed a silent question:  _ How did you find me? _

“We had a little help,” Hunk said, smiling, before moving aside and revealing the figure behind him.

The markings on his face may have been gone and he may have had legs, but Lance would recognize the merman he had fallen in love with anywhere. He slowly crawled towards Keith, a numbness spreading throughout his whole body, keeping him from even processing what he was seeing. There was no way Keith had come to land, just to save Lance from a witch that would’ve never harmed him otherwise. 

Lance gently reached out a placed shaking hand on Keith’s cheek, his eyes darting all over him while his mind tried to catch up with eyes. His breath came out slow as he looked over the one who had been able to save his life, and would, hopefully, be able to do it again.

_ Keith? _ He mouthed, swallowing thickly, his heart pounding in his fragile chest.

“Hi, Lance,” Keith whispered, his own tears falling from his eyes and onto the wooden floor of the hut. 

And just like that, Lance was a puddle of tears. He fell into Keith’s arms, tears streaming down his face, like a waterfall, as he clung to the other boy. His mind, which had been racing the moment before, stopped completely and the only thing he could think about was the boy in his arms. Nothing else mattered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keith held the small boy in his arms and all he could think was  _ Why would anyone do this to such a sweet person? _ He could feel almost every single one of Lance’s bones, and the breaths in his ear were ragged and small, almost like his ariways were obscured by something.

A sudden cackle behind them jerked the two out of the position. Keith whirled around and was faced with the ugly hag he had seen not too long ago. She was holding Pidge by her shirt collar in a vice-like grip, while said girl struggled with all her might, kicking and screaming several profanities.

“I knew you’d come,” Haggar whispered, staring directly at Keith. She dropped Pidge, who scrambled away from the witch, and held up her hands, purple flames coming out of them.

“I’m going to enjoy getting revenge on your family,” and she attacked.

She jumped at Keith faster than what would be considered humanly possible and pushed him to the ground. He screamed in pain as her flame-filled hands dug into his shoulders, burning holes through his shirt. The sound of burning flesh ripped through the whole hut.

Just as quickly, Haggar was off of him, hobbling back and ripping a small knife from her arm. Keith looked up and saw Hunk through watering eyes, his hand held out and his face contorted with rage and terror. He had just stabbed the witch.

“Why you little,” Haggar yelled, ripping the knife from her arm and raising both of them, purple and red sparks flying from them. A shout eminated from Hunk as he was thrown into the air, lodging into the ceiling. 

“Leave him alone!” Pidge shouted, pushing Haggar as hard as she could. Keith rolled out of the way as the witch came crashing down where he had just been, anger engulfing her whole form.

Keith barely even got a good look at the whole ordeal before he was faced with Lance cowering in the corner. His eyes were fixed on the battle behind Keith as he holed himself under a desk, terror mapping every single bit of his being. The time in the hut really werehard on him.

“Lance, can you fight?” Keith asked, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to win without some sort of help. His stomach plummeted whan Lance shook his head, burying himself further under the desk.

“Keith!” he heard behind him, making him turn around. Pidge was pinned under Haggar and Hunk was still stuck in the ceiling, a pole holding him up and keeping him stationed.

Keith immediately got up, grabbing the nearest knife that Hunk had dropped and kicking another one towards Lance, just in case he wanted to help. Then, he turned towards the witch and imbedded the knife into her shoulder. He didn’t have enough will to kill, but he didn’t care about injuring them.

Haggar let out a scream, shoving Pidge into the wall full force, creating a hole, and turned to face Keith, her eyes alight with an angry fire. She screamed again and shoved her hands out, casting Keith into the ground. Her hands held his shoulders while her magic pinned the rest of him down, keeping him from moving at all.

“Enough!” she yelled, shoving Keith farther into the ground, “I will get revenge for what happened to my husband!” She waved her hand towards the wall, causing the tarp over the picture to be cast down, revealing the shrine and picture.

Keith eyes widened as he recognized the purple skin and yellow eyes, something he had only seen once before, the night Adam was killed.

“Your husband was Zarkon,” he whispered, his hands trembling and his eyes watering.

Haggar smiled at that, revelling in his horror. “Yes,” she laughed out, throwing her head high, “The very one,”

“He-he killed my Dad, Adam,” Keith whispered, this time more angry. Tears pricked at the edges of his eyes, falling to the floor and making tracks in the dirt on his face. 

Haggar turned angry again at that, digging her nails into his shoulders. “And then his soon-to-be husband killed mine!” she shouted, slapping Keith square in the face, “And the only way I can get back at him is to kill someone close to him!”

With that, she lifted her hands and lit them with a searing flame of bright purple, raising them up above her head. “To Zarko-!”

She looked down, making Keith look, too. A blade was poking out of her chest, the tip coated in her blood. The flames on her hands flickered out and died as she fell to the floor, what little light she had left in her eyes fading out from existence. When she went down, she revealed a frightened Lance behind her, staring at her dead body with a horror while holding out his hands. His face was streaked with tears, cleaning his face and revealing his beautiful face from underneath all the muck that had grown up over the days.

“Lance,” Hunk said, still stuck on the ceiling, “What did you do?”

The frightened boy looked up at his friend as the other quietly crawled out of the wall, staring at the scene before her with a fright. Lance shook his head, staring at Haggar, but he didn’t look afraid of her, he looked more horrified at himself.

“He killed her,” Keith said, staring down at the knife still embedded in her heart.


	17. Chapter 17

They found Lance’s voice in a bottle in a locked chest under Haggar’s floorboards. As soon as the bottle was opened, Lance’s voice returned to him, but he didn’t say a word. He didn’t say a word as they left the hut and traveled back along the cliff’s edge. Not a word when they got back to his house, or when his mother gave him a big hug, crying tears of joy that he was okay. Not a word when Hunk and Pidge left for their own houses, exhaustion weighing them down, even when they refused Mrs. McClain’s offer of a sleepover.

It was only when he found himself in his room, alone with Keith did he feel like speaking at all. “I’m sorry,” he said, avoiding eye contact when Keith looked up from the sheets.

“For what?” he asked, scooting a little closer and putting his hand on Lance’s shoulder. It was stiff and tense, feeling like a rock under Keith’s fingers, but Lance hadn’t been able to relax in days, so it would take him some time.

“I’m sorry that I killed her,” the terrified teen whispered, staring into the sheets of his small bed. His eyes darted from the sheets to the posters on the wall, to the popcorn ceiling, anywhere but Keith’s piercing, violet eyes.

Keith looked at Lance with a look of pity and confusion, moving his hand from his shoulder to his neck. “Don’t be,” he said, trying to get Lance to look at him, “I would’ve killed her if you were about to be melted by her fire,”

Lance still refused to look at him, but his eyes moved to Keith’s legs, which were hidden beneath the blankets and sheets on the bed. “How did you…?” he asked, his voice trailing off as he gestured towards Keith’s legs.

“My dad,” he said immediately, not taking his eyes off of the boy in front of him, “he did some magic and turned me human,but,” he paused, looking down at the sheets as his other hand wrapped around one of Lance’s.

“But, what?” Lance asked, but he already knew the answer.

“But I have to go back at some point,” Keith whispered, looking up into Lance’s eyes, the ones that finally met his own.

“Why?” Lance asked, “Why do we have to choose? We worked so long to find each other, only to be separated again?”

Keith nodded, looking towards the shell Shiro had given him when he turned him, the one that would take him home. “I don’t know why, but I know that you can’t leave your family forever, and I can’t leave mine,” he said, a numbness spreading throughout his whole body. He knew that, in the morning, he would have to blow that shell and return to the kingdom. Without Lance by his side. 

“Isn’t there a middle ground?” Lance asked, snapping Keith out of his momentary daze. He looked up and saw that Lance’s face meant for it to be a rhetorical question, but it sparked a question inside of him.

“Maybe there is,” he said, looking to the side in thought. The cogs in his head were turning so fast that he didn’t see Lance look up in confusion.

“What do you-?” he began, but he was cut off as Keith looked away from the wall, his eyes alight with happiness.

“I’m sure Dad can get us something so that we don’t have to leave each other!” he exclaimed, his grip on Lance’s hand tightening in excitement. In his happy haste, he completely forgot where he was and what he was doing, so, in the moment, Keith suddenly found his lips locked on Lance’s in excitement.

As soon as he did it, he realized what he did and jumped back, apologizing profusely. “I’m so sorry, Lance, I didn’t mean to do that. It was uncalled for. I should’ve asked an-,”

Lance cut him off with a deeper kiss, a small smile on his face. “Shut up and do it again, dork,” he whispered, his arm coming out to wrap across Keith’s neck. Keith sat there stunned for a moment before finally melting into it, his mind going on overdrive at the fact that he was finally kissing the boy he had been in love with since he was eight years old.

The next morning, the two boys woke up wrapped up in the sheets and hugs. Keith had somehow ended up being upside down, earning a few snickers from Lance. They walked out and went down to the beach, not stopping for breakfast, their hands intertwined. When they reached the sand, Keith pulled out the shell he had been given and blew it, a small whistle coming from its depths. Not even two minutes later, Shiro, Coran, and Allura broke through the surface of the water, their scales shining in the light.

“Keith!” Allura yelled, crawling up to the sand. Keith went out to meet her, hugging his sister tightly and ruffling her hair. Shiro and Coran soon joined her at the edge of the water, smiles plastered across their own faces.

“I see you succeeded in getting him back,” Shiro said to Keith, gesturing towards Lance. Lance himself was sitting in the sand next to Keith’s feet, smiling at everyone’s actions.

“Yeah,” Keith said, plopping down next him and resting his head on his shoulder, “and I’ve never been happier,”

Lance hugged him gently before turning to Shiro. “Sir, we wanted to know if there was a way we could still be together,” he whispered, prompting Keith to look up as well. Allura and Coran watched the Sea King as well, wanting to know if it was possible.

They were all relieved when Shiro smiled. “Of course,” he said and pulled out two shell pendants. One was red with orange and yellow swirls on it, like fire, while the other one was blue with waves drawn on it. They both had a small half heart on it, and they were tied onto a piece of twine.

“I’ve been working on these since you left,” Shiro stated, holding them out to the two boys, “They can turn you from human to merman and vice versa at will,” He handed the red one to Keith and the blue one to Lance, who immediately tried to activate it by holding it up and yelling, “Merman!”

When nothing happened, everyone else chuckled, while Lance pouted. “You just need to think about the creature you what to be,” Shiro managed through the giggles he was holding in.

Keith tried it when he was done explaining, closing his eyes and relaxing everything. In a flash of light, he was sitting on the sand, with a tail where his legs had been. Allura stared at her brother for a moment before moving in a flash and dragging him into the water.

“You can’t be dry when you have a tail!” she laughed out, swimming away from her angry little brother. Said brother was chasing her around the edge of the beach, a fun-loving look on his face as he struggled to catch up. Lance watched all of this with a fond smile, happy that he was now a part of such of loving family.

“Lance!” someone behind him yelled, causing everyone on the beach to look up at the dunes. They turned and saw Mrs. McClain, accompanied by Veronica and the twins, who stared at the water with blank eyes.

“Mom!” Lance yelled, standing up and walking over to where a small portion of his family stood, “Come meet Keith’s family,” He took his mom’s elbow and lead her to the edge of the sand, Veronica and the twins trailing behind them like zombies.

“Why hello, Mrs. McClain, pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Shiro said, extending his hand as far as it could go. Mrs. McClain casually walked up to him in the water, like it was completely normal, and grasped his hand.

“Hello, Mr. Shirogane,” she said back to him, “Keith has told me quite a bit about you,”

A scream came from behind them all and they all turned to see the twins jumping up and down, apparently having snapped out of their dazes. “Mermaids are real!” they squealed in unison, running towards the water and kicking up sand as they went. They launched themselves at Coran and hugged him, wanting to get a good look. He ended up leading them away to answer any questions and let them ride on his back through the waves.

Allura slowly swam up to Veronica, a smile on both girls’ face. “Would you like to come swimming?” Allura asked her, nodding her head towards the water. Veronica nodded excitedly and jumped in, splashing Allura with the salty liquid. They ended up swimming away to talk about their different worlds, and most likely their brothers.

Shiro watched this all unfold, until a tap on his shoulder made him turn around. “May I talk to you in private?” Keith asked his dad, nodding towards the rock he had originally been on when he was younger. Shiro nodded and followed him over, a funny feeling in his stomach.


	18. Chapter 18

“What did you want to talk about, Keith?” Shiro asked when they reached the rock. They were seated on the flat surface of the top, watching as everyone else played and talked. Lance was showing the twins how he could turn from mermaid to human, laughing at their jaws in the sand. Mrs. McClain and Coran were talking amongst themselves, while Allura and Veronica were talking while Allura showed Veronica her tail.

“About the witch that hurt Lance,” Keith said, looking straight at his father. Shiro immediately clammed up at that, refusing to look at his son.

“Why?” he asked, “She’s dead now, isn’t she?”

“Yes, but she said that you killed her husband,”

Shiro deflated, still looking at the others. He didn’t want to look at Keith’s eyes, not wanting to see whatever emotion they held. 

“You never told me,” Keith said, angling his head to look Shiro in the eye. 

Shiro sighed, picking at a stray pebble on the rock, trying to take his mind off of the conversation he was being forced into. “I didn’t want you to think any less of me,” he said after a minute, finally looking Keith in the eyes.

However, instead of the anger or hurt he thought the violet orbs would hold, they were only hard with determination. “I don’t think any less of you,” Keith said, “I’m glad you got revenge on the one who hurt Adam,” 

And just like that, they were sharing a hug, tears flowing from their eyes as they thought of Adam. Shiro cried more than Keith, finally being able to let out some of the emotion he held inside as the thoughts of the days he spent with Adam floated through his mind. The days they used to swim through the seaweed near the edge of the beach, trying to catch each other. The one time Shiro tried to cook Adam something for breakfast, but almost made the castle kitchen explode. All the memories flowed and made Shiro cry almost as hard as the night he died.

“It’s okay,” Keith whispered, “I miss him, too,” 

“I know,” Shiro said, composing himself as fast as he could, “but I also know that you’re gonna have something just like we had,” He glanced back at where the others were and saw Lance swimming with the twins. Keith sighed and nodded, but shoved Shiro anyway. He fell into the water with a loud splash, earning a laugh from his son.

“Why’d you do that?” Shiro laughed, “We were having a bonding moment,”

“I can’t show my soft side!” Keith shouted back, turning human and jumping into the water, “I gotta stay tough!” 

He quickly splashed some water into Shiro’s face and dashed off, turning merman and slicing through the water. Shiro laughed and chased after him.

That night, the whole group, including the rest of Lance’s family, was on the beach and surrounded by a campfire. The adults were seated near the sea, talking about the things parents do when they think they’re alone. The younger kids were running around with sparklers and water guns, while the teenagers were sitting around and talking or playing cards. All except for Keith and Lance, who were right next to the fire with a purple blanket wrapped around their shoulders.

“So, where did you learn to play the guitar?” Keith asked, snuggling his head into Lance’s shoulder. 

“My dad,” Lance whispered, “he taught me when I was around eight,”

Keith lazily glanced around at the adults, but furrowed his brows when he didn’t see a man that was young enough to be Lance’s dad. “Where is he?” he asked.

“He died when I was ten,” Keith started and looked at Lance, noticing the slight tears in his eyes. He quickly move to sit in front of him and gently wiped the tears that had begun to fall on his cheeks.

“He, he died in a car cr-ash when I was ten,” Lance cried, keeping his voice quiet, but sobbing into Keith’s hands, “He wa-s coming h-ome from w-ork and a drunk driver cr-ashed into him,” He was crying hard enough to make his words spaced out, so Keith quickly led him away to the other side of the dune for some privacy.

“Are you okay?” he asked his boyfriend once they were out of sight of the others. 

Lance nodded and stared at the sand. “It’s just hard, because he was one of the few men in my family that wasn’t a good 60 years old, you know,”

Keith nodded, then gently laid his hand down on Lance’s and kissed his cheek. Lance started and stared at him in bewilderment, since he was still getting used to being with Keith.

“What he that for?” he asked in a whisper, lacing their fingers together.

“You were sad,” Keith said back, “I thought it would make you feel better,”

Lance gave a coy smile, then pouted. “I’m not sure I’m feeling better, yet,” he whined, giving Keith the puppy dog eyes.

“Do you need another?” Keith asked, already placing a kiss on his nose.

“How about another hundred,” Lance whispered and swooped in to kiss Keith on the lips.

They ended up cuddling in the sand before it was time for Keith to go back to Altea. Lance watched him go after giving him a quick kiss, one their family couldn’t see, and began to wonder how he had gotten such a wonderful merman to fall in love with him. All of the pain they had gone through, just to share their first kiss and be able to cuddle and love each other, was so worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is really short, but it's also the last one and I hope you guys enjoyed my crazy adventure! Love you! <3


End file.
